Little Things
by BeyondMyReach
Summary: Yusuke left Demon World in search of Kurama, who disappeared a few centuries ago. Complete. [For a shorter, more in-character version, please check out Little Things (that might have happened) first.]
1. And the rest is history

Warning for **just this chapter**: Spoiler for those who do not know the Sage of the Six Paths and the whole _Yu Yu Hakusho_ series (just a little). Also for Yusuke's colorful language in future chapters.

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><p>Edit (72015): Hey guys! I wrote Little Things a few years ago, back when I didn't really understand the characters' personality or how to shape a plot in a story. Needless to say, that means that Little Things really isn't the best example a YYHxNaruto story could be. As a result, some years later after Little Things ended, **I decided to rewrite a shorter, more in-character version of Little Things, known as 'Little Things (that might have happened)'. I strongly suggest that you read that one instead of this one, **but regardless of which fic you'll choose to read, please enjoy and thank you for reading.

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><p>Yusuke growled savagely, his spirit and demon power bubbled at the surface, barely contained as he felt more and more frustrated with every second. He cursed. He should have brought some kind of equipment with him or at least someone better at sensing energy. It's going to be years before he finds Kurama.<p>

Sure, the two had grown closer over the years, bonding over the pain of knowing that their human friends and family will always leave before them, but it doesn't mean he'll be able to sense the fox half the globe away. Especially since it has been centuries since he last seen Kurama.

Yusuke clenched his hand into a fist, sharpen nails digging at his palm as they unconsciously grew at his agitated state. He blinked absentmindedly at the dull pain and raised his hand to eye level, where he could see long, pointy nails. Sighing, he ran his hand through his recently shorten hair. He will have to train his energy control again. After being in the Demon World for centuries, he had gotten used to not needing to restrain his energy and as a result, became lax in his control.

Now that the barriers between the two worlds have finally came down, he would have to polish it back up again if he doesn't want the humans to freak. He rolled his eyes. They always do, at anything that's not "normal." Hopefully, they'll be more like Kuwabara or Grandma instead, seeing they're their descendants and everything.

It all happened a few centuries ago, you see, when the Human World ended. A few allied countries were testing atomic bombs, planning to use it to rule the world or something. After a successful test run, human nature shone through and decided they really didn't really want to share. In secret, they remade a few of those destructive bombs and when one of the countries was at odds with another and declared war on them, an atomic bomb was used. It triggered other countries in using their nuclear bombs and set off a chain reaction. By then, around three-fifth of the world was destroyed. Of course, luck wasn't on mankind's side and the radioactive particles were carried on wind currents and across to other countries, thus affecting the other two-fifth.

Radioactive elements affect all organisms, and so Koenma immediately put up the barrier between the worlds. Humans weren't the only casualties though. Ever since the Demon World began to slowly integrate with the Human World, more demons began going to the Human World in peace. A few thousand demons were left in Human World when the barrier was pulled up, along with Kurama, Yukina and all the humans that Yusuke came to know.

When Yusuke learned of it, he demanded Koenma to let him go back, but the prince refused to risk anymore. At the time, had it been a decade ago, Yusuke would have been adamant about it, threatening Koenma bodily harm should he not listen. But it wasn't a decade ago and Yusuke was older and far more wiser. He understood how hard it was on Koenma, and knew the prince wanted him to save their friends too.

It wasn't like any other opponents Yusuke had fought to save the world, though. It was radiation. How does one go about saving the world if the thing threatening it isn't even tangible? Allowing Yusuke to go is just simply sending him to his death and risking a few more thousands of demons. It was a lost war.

So in the end, Yusuke stormed out of Koenma's office and forced some poor fool who was at the wrong place at the wrong time to open the portal and gone back to the Demon World. That day, the Human World was destroyed, followed by a fifth of the Demon World's forest courtesy of Yusuke's punch and Hiei's sword. And that was only because they were fighting each other and not the forest, because if they were, the forest would have lost to the two enraged demons. Badly.

After the fight, Yusuke and Hiei was injured to the point of needing months to fully recover. By then, their anger bled out and all that was left was remorse (although Hiei would never admit it). Survivors learned to fear the two, since that day was nearly marked "The Day Human and Demon World Ended."

It was all due to the incident that allowed Hiei and Yusuke to grow closer together as well. Both had lost people important to them, allowing them to understand each other on another level. The two could also be found often sparing with one another, although it was nowhere as intense as their last battle. When Koenma informed them the barrier was down, Hiei immediately went ahead to scout and came back with information on the new Human World. Or perhaps it should be changed to Ninja World, much to Yusuke's amusement.

After much of the world was destroyed, Genkai went around saving the survivors. Not much of her style, but she hardly wanted the human race to end and without a leader to guide them in adapting, that would have undoubtedly happen. She first went to the areas that were affected the least by the radiation, using her powers to protect lives, but only that since there were others that needed her. The action, needless to say, caused mutation, but at least it wouldn't be life threatening.

Besides, survival of the fittest, meaning those who adapt would survive. With any luck, their mutation would bring about difference that will help them do exactly that. Genkai taught them how to survive and use their spirit energy (which came to be known as chakra), but the rest is up to them. Genkai didn't get out unscathed though. She, too, was affected by the little radiation around her, but not in a bad way. It was almost as if the world was trying to help her. You see, her mutation caused her spirit energy go back to the time when she was in her prime. As if the world understood that she was trying to help mankind and gave her the power to.

(Although the System aka the balance between the Spirit World, Demon World, and Human World is the true mastermind. Or course, the System failed to mention the fact that Genkai _coincidently_ gained her boost of power the moment after Yusuke was knocked out of cold from his fight with Hiei and promptly caught a bad fever. The fever was nothing serious, but it prevented Yusuke from using his powers for fear of feeling dizzy and sick. If Yusuke's energy_-particularly spiritual energy-_was suspiciously low during the time Genkai was in her prime, it was only a coincident. It was _not _because the Law of Conservation of Energy, which states energy cannot be created nor destroyed, thus leaving the System pouting. The System especially did _not _cheat and lend Genkai Yusuke's spiritual energy by creating a situation where Yusuke wouldn't use it.

And of course, there was no way the System destroyed a little too much of Demon World's forest on purpose to make Hiei and Yusuke seem stronger (and make everything a little more balance) and therefore, demons won't dare strike them while they rest.._.and Yusuke without half of his spirit energy, but they don't know that._ Nope, not at all.)

It wouldn't be too surprising if that was the case though. The three worlds are what balance each other out, allowing them to have equilibrium. With the Human World almost destroyed, the equilibrium would have been lost, which would eventually cause the system of the three worlds to collapse, and the other two worlds to self-destruct. If mankind survives, however, all that wouldn't happen. And that's where Genkai comes in, along with other high spiritual aware beings such as Kuwabara.

With their help, enough of the mankind survived, even if they did change. Of course, their saving the world adventure didn't end there. Unfortunately, while many lives were saved, many were also lost. Those who died had their souls floating around since Spirit World can't send people in to collect them. With enough time, the radiation would even decay souls. Around the time a semblance of peace finally reign, at last, the radioactive material was given enough time to decay souls. (It depends on the amount of radiation there is and how weak/strong the soul is)

When souls decay, they cannot go back to the cycle of reincarnation (they'll simply dissolve so they no longer have a 'mind,' so to speak, but their energy will remain in Human World), which caused a huge panic among those who witnessed the disintegration of the other souls. The panic continued to spread, until they fell back to instinct, which was to band together so they're one big soul. Since weak souls get decayed first, that was practically the only solution. However, after they combined to one whole being and the danger of being disintegrated passed, the souls began fighting over who controls the being. (Think of FMA and their philosopher stone)

While the souls within the being fight it out, the common factor of all the souls pilot: Animal instinct (Like Bleach's Vizards when they go into their inner world and fight their hollow). The great being (who, by the way, has Ten-Tails) followed its own sense of self-preservation and headed towards areas with little radiation. Alas, that was also where little villages were built by the surviving humans and eventually, the two crossed path.

And here is where historians of the Age of Shinobi were wrong. The Sage of the Six Paths was actually two people. One was Genkai and the other was Kuwabara. Genkai used her power and stopped the Ten-Tailed from advancing forward when it attacked. She never sealed it within herself and instead, told Kuwabara to cut it up into pieces with his spirit sword. He ended up cutting them into nine pieces, and Genkai quickly used the remaining of her power to seal the rest. After that, she had virtually no spirit energy left and as a result, passed away.

Kuwabara was the one with the noble intention of establishing peace throughout the world, since it was the nuclear war that torn the worlds apart, along with the people living in them. Yukina was one of the billion of victims of war. The Ten-Tailed's potent and poisonous chakra affected her during its rampage and although Genkai stopped the poison from spreading any further before her own death, Yukina still went blind and her eyes turned featureless white.

However, a few weeks after that, she realized that although she cannot see people the way she did before, she could see a lot of colors in human shapes. Her 'vision' also extends on so she could see an area of at least 50 meters from all angles. It also gave her an incredible clarity of perception, and as a result, could memorize things more easily. In addition, with her eyes, she could tell when someone was sick since the flow of the color of their body would look different, and used it to heal.

After that, the people lived a relatively peaceful life and the tiny villages began to grow. Children were born, some with weird abilities due to mutation, some not. Yukina and Kuwarbara's first son fit in the first category. He apparently inherited Yukina's eyes, even though his are fine. The family was so happy for the gift that they named this inheritance _Kekkei _**_Genkai_**_, _naming it after the person that saved Yukina and many others, as well as teaching them how to use their spiritual energy/charkra. The second son, on the other hand, took after the father. Although he had no special ability besides an incredible amount of chakra reserve, he had Kuwabara's noble intent, along with his _willpower_ or _Will of Fire_. It was the older son who decided to follow his father's step and use a sword though.

Yukina sadly died before her children's tenth birthday, having to be affected by the radiation more than she realized. Kuwabara was devastated, but was unable to remain in that state long since he still have two children to care for. He took care of his children as well as he could while still managing to look over the villages' affair. He also went to check on the separated parts of the Ten-Tailed to make sure they're still tightly sealed.

During one of his visits, Kuwabara realized Kurama was a part of the sealed beast when the shapeless lump of souls morphed into a fox with nine tails, since it was he who won the battle among the souls within that lump. The other eight remains of the Ten-Tails will eventually follow when a victor emerge and will too morph into the shape of that victor, but not all will reach a resolution during Kuwabara's lifetime.

On his deathbed, Kuwabara chose his younger son as his successor to look over the villages. Little did he know, the older son will soon attack the younger, beginning a war between them shortly after his death. The Tablet was created _after_this happened, during the second generation of this newly created world by someone who wanted their future generations to know what happened. They didn't know the true story, however, and automatically assumed Kuwabara was the one that dealt with all the problems. (Gender discrimination, unfortunately, lived on.)

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><p>If the idea of "radiation ended human world" sounds familiar, it should. I got the idea from TheBeingOfEverything's The World Ends With Humans. It's awesome.<p>

**Note:** I don't know is where this is going, or even if it is going anywhere. The only thing I have planned out is the detailed background of how YYH and Naruto merge, which is presented already. So please don't ask any question about when I'm going to update, if this or this is going to happen, is he or she is going to appear and stuff like that. I don't know. I'm a rather clueless author.

However, feel free to make any suggestions. It doesn't mean I'll put every single thing offered to me in the story, but I will if it triggers my fingers to type. Of course, I'll give credit to where it is due. But do keep in mind that this will be a series of one-shots that are loosely connected.

Lastly, I apologize for any future ooc, since I'm not updated with _Naruto_ and it has been a while since I last watched _YYH. _I got some of these information from their respective wikia and the rest from my imagination.


	2. Nice To Meet You

"Finally," Yusuke said, letting out a sigh of relief at the sight of the evidently man-made fence. He had been searching for civilization for what appeared to be hours. While he wasn't tired, he was sure bored out of his mind thanks to the seemingly never-ending forest.

Glancing up to the extremely high fence, he decided not to scale it. Instead, with childish glee, Yusuke pushed some spirit energy into his feet and leaped. And promptly went flying over and past the fence, where he was actually aiming for.

_Oops_, he thought sheepishly. Too much. Ninja and civilians alike looked up as he soared through the air, staying suspended there for a terrible moment with everyone's eyes on him. Looking down at the people's bewildered state, he resisted the urge to stick his tongue out. Before anyone could move, however, gravity took over and dropped him like a rock towards the general area of the training ground.

Knees bent, Yusuke braced himself for the fall. As soon as he landed, he jumped out of the small crater that he inadvertently created and ran like hell. _Koenma's going to be so pissed,_ Yusuke thought. He actually planned for the former detective to quietly get in and then out with Kurama, but... _Aw, hell with it. If the toddler wanted someone stealthy, he should have told Hiei to come instead._

With that, he hurried out of the bosk and onto the road. Once he was there, he ambled down, trying to look as if he did belong there. It didn't quite work though, and it was all because of his outerwear. It stood out among what Yusuke perceived as weird clothing, although in their eyes, he was probably the strange one instead.

With a sigh, he slipped into the first clothing shop he saw and stole a set of apparel that looked fine. (Hiei _had_ to give him the language of this world that he lifted off of some people, but not their currency.) Just as he was about to leave, a shout caught his attention.

"Leave," came a very harsh sounding voice. "I don't sell stuff to your kind."

Curiosity got the best of him, and he find himself heading towards the voice, wondering what all that commotion was about.

"B-But I have money," another voice drifted into his ears, followed by the sound of coins. Yusuke frowned. The voice sounded too young for his liking.

He arrived just in time to see a person, presumably the first speaker, throw the coins into a kid's face. Yusuke's eyes widen before narrowing, quickly darting forward and pull the blond-haired kid back, using his other arm to block the rest of the money.

"What the hell are you doing?" he growled angrily. His arm wrapping just a little tighter around the shaking kid whose shoulder barely past his waist.

"You're just a foreigner," the man replied in obvious contempt, oblivious to the young looking man's ire. "You don't know what he did."

"No, I don't know," Yusuke acknowledged, attempting to be level-headed. The orange-clad boy shook harder, pressing himself against him as if he'll be able to disappear if he press hard enough. "What I do know is that he's just a kid." His mind went to Keiko, beautiful and happy when she found out she was pregnant. His heart ached. What has the world come to, when people will just stand by, and watch a child be mistreated?

The man looked shocked and for a moment, ashamed of himself. That instantly faded though, and Yusuke shook his head. Humans. They never change.

Grabbing the kid by the arm, he easily dragged him out, stealing some money as he passed by the counter. Someone finally found the nerve to speak when he stepped outside. "Don't ever come back!" a random villager yelled.

Yusuke paused long enough to turn around and flip them the bird, all attempts at being an adult abandon. "I won't even if you want me to, you bastards!" he easily shouted back, ignoring anyone who was staring. He stomped away, energy boiling in response to his anger. He was so busy trying to keep it under control that he didn't even notice the tugging at his arm.

"Mister, mister!" came a voice, followed by a few more tugs. Yusuke blinked and stopped, causing the brat to bump into him and fall back on his ass.

Yusuke let out a heavy breath, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "You okay, kid?" he asked, offering a hand.

The boy glanced at the hand warily, as if expecting him to withdraw it the moment he accept it. When Yusuke continued to hold out his hand steadily, clearly waiting for him, he slowly accepted the hand. Yusuke easily pulled him up. "Sorry. You didn't get hurt, did you?"

A sudden smile appeared on his face. "No," he said cheerfully, as if he wasn't kicked out of a store just moments ago.

Yusuke nodded, not quite paying attention. "Alright, see you around then."

"Wha-Wait!" the blue-eyed child shouted desperately as he turned to leave. Yusuke glanced back.

"Yeah?" he inquired, eyebrow raised.

"Um..." Suddenly feeling nervous, he awkwardly shuffled his feet. "T-Thank you for before. Not that I couldn't handle it or anything," he burst out, causing Yusuke to blink at the sudden change. "But thank you. It's... It's the first time anyone helped me."

Yusuke's eyes soften. He reached out, and ruffled the kid's blond hair, the fact that he shut his eyes tight before that not escaping his notice. "What's your name, brat?"

His hand was abruptly brushed away. "Not brat! Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto!" he shouted. "I'll be the future Hokage one day. Believe it!"

Yusuke couldn't help it. He laughed, causing the brat in front of him to turn beet-red. "Hey, don't laugh at me!"

The demon grinned at Naruto. "Not laughin' at you. Just that it's been a while since someone proclaimed something like that that boldly, and I don't even know what a Hokage is. Bet it's something big, huh."

"You bet!" Naruto nodded deeply. "He's the strongest person in the world."

"Work hard toward the goal then."

Naruto's eyes snapped up to Yusuke's face with disbelief painted all across his own. "You think I can do it?" he asked, his voice sounding funny.

Yusuke shrugged. "Sure, why not. Nothing is impossible," he said, thinking about the times he won despite all odds.

The eleven-year old's eyes watered, but was determined not to cry. "Wha-what's your name, mister? I'll do something -err... make you a rank higher, yeah that's right. I'll make your rank higher when I become a Hokage."

"Thanks, kid, but I'm not a ninja. Name's Yusuke, if you really want to know. Anyway," he said, thinking enough of the attention that Naruto himself seem to attract, along with his own's foreign looking attire. "I gotta go."

"Huh? Wh-?" Naruto asked, looking up. But Yusuke was already gone.

xxx

"Rat," the Hokage said softly. A person immediately appeared, his face covered with a mask of his codename. "Did you discover the intruder's identity?"

Rat bowed waist-deep, before straightening to begin his report. "Hokage-sama, we found him. He is surprisingly young and should be no more than eighteen. Possesses no forehead protector and calls himself Yusuke."

"A young shinobi with unknown affiliation," the Hokage murmured.

"Hai. It was reported that after landing in the training ground, he went to Katsura's Robe and took a set of clothing." Here, he paused before finding his voice and continued. "He then initiated contact with Uzumaki Naruto."

The elder sat up straighter at the name, eyes sharpening. Rat resisted the urge to gulp nervously. It wouldn't do for an ANBU member to show emotion so easily. "Uzumaki encountered some_ problems_ while shopping and the teen stepped in."

"Problems," the Hokage repeat. Rat nodded.

"The store owner was not pleased by Naruto's presence and refused to let him buy anything. The intruder defended him and later dragged Naruto out. His energy was going out of control during that time, but he didn't lash out at anyone. Uzumaki and the foreigner spoke for a while before the teen used some kind of technique to leave. It wasn't as fast as Body Flicker, but still fast enough for civilians to think he simply disappeared."

"What rank would you give him?"

Rat paused. "Just based on his display of chakra... at least chuunin, maybe low jōnin."

The Hokage nodded approvingly, like a father would to his son after getting a particular hard question right. "My thoughts are exact. Where is he right now?"

"Eagle and Swag are currently trailing him. Hokage-sama, should I order them to bring him in?"

The Hokage hesitated before nodding. "On the account of entering with illegal means."


	3. Negotiation

"Excuse me, but I must ask you to come with us," Eagle said stepping forward. The teen before him automatically shifted his stance at his sudden appearance, proving his suspicion that he, indeed, was an experienced fighter. Behind him, he could feel Swan tense before forcing herself to relax.

"Why should I?" he questioned impudently, relaxing when they didn't immediately attack. He even went as far as deliberately sticking his hands in his pocket, looking as if he was in front of old friends instead of strangers that was about to bring him in.

"For entering Konohagakure by illegal means," Swan stiffly replied, placing herself directly in front of the teen, who in turn, looked more amused than anything else.

"And If I don't go?"

"Then I have to say we can't be accounted for our action."

There was a tense moment, and then he smirked. "I like your guts," he declared, looking at the two ANBU. "Alright, lead the way."

The two masked ninja imperceptibly glanced at each other, both wondering if it is some kind of trick. It seemed as if they didn't give the foreigner enough credit though, as he caught the 'imperceptible exchange' if his widening of grin was anything to go by.

"No trick," he assured them, holding up his empty hands. Not that it proved anything other than not having any weapon _currently _in his hand. They could easily be hidden up his sleeve or in his pocket. But then again, he had just switched his clothing and they have been tailing him even before that. Neither witnessed him taking anything out of the pockets and nothing extraordinary was found after going through his original clothing. Besides the fact that they are made of some unknown fabric, of course. Soft enough to be comfortable to fight in, but strong enough to last a few attacks until it finally falls apart. Curious, indeed.

Eagle gestured towards the general direction of the prison. "This way, then."

Xxx

"Are you this nice to all your prisoners?" Yusuke asked, glancing around the well furnished room. His eyes quickly zeroed in on the red, velvety looking coach and plopped down. He immediately sunk into it, and groaned, burying himself even deeper into the extremely comfortable coach. Not many demons were big on luxury so few had furniture as nice as this. Not to say none have, just that he rarely get the chance to use them, since half of the time he ended up sleeping on the forest floor after a particular hard battle. He greatly missed these little things from the Human World, and it was absolutely bliss after sleeping outside almost every night for centuries. To this day, he still doesn't understand how Hiei could enjoy sleeping in trees.

"Are you always this relaxed around people you don't know?" Swan shot back. The whole purpose of this prison was to get the interrogatee to relax so the process could be smoother, but it seemed as if this teen, an adult by shinobi standards, was already completely relaxed even without it. "I'm surprised you didn't get killed yet."

Yusuke grinned, wondering what this snappy woman would say if she knew how many times he died already.

"Swan," Rat called out. Instantly she straightened up, going from an annoyed person to a soldier.

"Captain," she answered back, turning around. Behind the masked figure, he could see an old man wearing this weird looking hat and robe. She hastily bowed at the sight of him. "Hokage-sama."

"Eagle, Swan, Rat," he said, looking at each one of them as he spoke their name. "Thank you for your effort. You're now dismissed."

The soldiers bowed before leaving the room. Hiruzen could still feel their presence around though, and smiled at their loyalty. He could take care of himself, however.

Yusuke lazily sat up, although inside he was alert. Hokage-sama, they called him: The strongest man in the whole world, if the Naruto kid was right.

"You're the leader of this village?" Yusuke curiously asked, if only to confirm his thought. The old man in front of him didn't look strong, but had this air around him all the same.

"Yes," came the reply.

"So you're the strongest person in the world?"

The other laughed. "I've been called that," he modestly replied. "I'm getting old, though. It's time for the next generation."Here he paused, suddenly looking serious. "I'll continue to protect this village until they are ready to take over."

"Whoa, chill," Yusuke said, waving his arms as if to ward off his solemn attitude. "I'm not here to threaten your village or anything. I'm just looking for a friend. He has been missing for a while."

"What kind of friend would you jump over the fence for instead of walking through the front gate?" the Sandaime inquired. Yusuke shook his head.

"You won't know him," he said. "He's called Kurama, if you really want to know. Look, I'm sorry for entering illegally. I was anxious to find my friend. I'm not going to get into your business, so just let me stay here until I find him. I'll leave once I do."

The Hokage shook his head. "When you're my age, you'll understand Yusuke-kun. I'm responsible for this village, and the safety of the people. I can't let you roam around without knowing whether you'll be a threat or not and I can't take your word for it. Anyone can simply say they're not a threat, turn around and endanger my people. How can I be sure you're not one of them?"

Yusuke groaned in frustration. He _hate_ politics. He had enough of them during the time he reigned in Demon World, even though he did understand what the old man was getting at. "What do you want me to do then?" he asked, getting straight to the point.

"Become a shinobi," the Sandaime replied, just as straight forward. Yusuke stared at him as if he grew another head.

"Shinobi?" he asked like a broken record. "Like one of those I-sneak-out-in-the-dark-and-assassin-people ninja? The kind I see in TVs?"

Hiruzen visibly stiffen at such raw description. "The system is unfortunately built like that, bu-"

"Fuck you," he growled, surprising the Hokage when he immediately stood up. He meant that as a joke, but to think it is true. Kuwabara and Grandma would be rolling in their grave if they heard mankind is wiping themselves out after personally saving their lives. "I'm outta here. I might like fighting, but I ain't killing anyone needlessly."

"Yusuke-kun, please wait," Hiruzen said. Yusuke stopped without meaning to. "I understand where you are coming from and personally feel the same, but the system is already set. I won't ask you to assassin anyone if you are not willing, so will you at least hear my proposal."

Yusuke reluctantly did as he was told, and plopped back onto the coach. This time, he did not allowing himself to sink. Crossing his arms and legs as an act of rebellion, he looked every bits of not wanting to be there and waited.

The older-looking man glanced at the teen before him and sighed, wrinkles deepening. Yusuke-kun reminded him greatly of his son when he was in his rebellious age. "If you choose to become a shinobi, you will answer and report directly to me. You won't have to leave due to your illegal entrance and will have a choice of choosing your mission. So if you don't want to take assassinating missions, you don't have to. There are escorting or bodyguard missions you can take instead. We weren't built only upon assassination."

Most of Yusuke's anger bleed away at the man's reasonable and moreover, kind voice. He could never stay angry at people like that, most likely because he never had grandparents. The Hokage was like perfect model of the grandfather he never had. But…

"Have you ever killed?" he asked, looking directly into the elderly's eyes. He looked slight startled by the question, but it was soon replaced by a wary look that crept upon his face.

"Yusuke-kun, I'll never ask someone to do something I've never done before," was the answer.

The fact that the Hokage sounded so tired made him paused, mulling over the man's words. It didn't sound like the man enjoyed killing one bit and the fact gave him a great sense of relief. Finally, he came to a conclusion. "I still don't like this assassinating business and honestly think it is bull. But… I accept your offer. You are a good leader and you haven't lied to me yet. Besides, I don't want to look for another place to stay and I doubt they'll be as generous as you."

Hiruzen smiled, nodding at his answer as he stood up. "I'll arrange somewhere for you to stay-"

He was interrupted by the sound of a loud growl. The source of it grinned sheepishly. "I haven't eaten in a while," Yusuke explained.

The Sandaime smiled pleasantly. "Let's get some food in that stomach then. It's almost time for my meeting anyway. You don't mind ramen, do you?"

"You guys have?" he asked. At the other man's nod, he grinned. "Let's go then. I'm starving."

The Hokage chuckled softly and led the way.


	4. You are now a proud

"Jii-san!" someone shouted, followed by a blur of orange. It tackled the Hokage, who in turn chuckled, easily holding his arms out to envelop the child into a hug. "You're late!"

"Sorry, Naruto. I had some business to take-" he apologized, but before he could finish, he was interrupted.

"Ah, you!" Naruto shouted, pointing at Yusuke.

"Hey brat," he greeted with a grin, patting the child's blond hair as he reached the stool. Sitting down, he ordered himself a bowl of pork ramen.

"Not kid! Nar-u-to!" Naruto exclaimed, clambering on to the stool beside the raven-hair teen. "How come you don't remember that?"

"Cuz you are a kid," he replied, breaking apart his chopstick. He dug in as soon as his bowl came.

"Ah! No fair," he yelled at the sight of the ramen. He quickly turned to face the counter. "Old man, _two _bowl of miso ramen."

"And a bowl for me," the Hokage finally spoke, taking a seat next to the child he view as a grandson. While Teuchi went to prepare the food, he watched Naruto and Yusuke's interaction. The way Naruto reacted whole-heartedly to every little thing Yusuke did was somewhat amusing, along with how calmly the teen took it. He was reminded of the friendly rivalry between a certain gray-haired former ANBU and a bowl-haired jōnin. An idea slowly formed in his head and remained there even as his bowl of ramen came.

If he remembered correctly, Naruto's former caretaker had left just last week, stating that she can't stand him. Wouldn't it be perfect…? Glancing at the youngsters out of the corner of his eyes, he nodded. Yes, he believed it'll work.

"Naruto," he interjected, putting a calming hand on aforementioned child's shoulder. The child swirled around, nearly falling off his seat. "How would you like another caretaker?"

Naruto's nose scrunched up at the thought. "I don't want another one. I don't like them."

The Sandaime smiled kindly in reply. "What if Yusuke-kun is the one to take care of you?" he asked.

"Really!" Naruto asked excitedly, masking the sound of Yusuke spurting his fifth bow of ramen out, coughing as some got stick in his throat. What the hell was the old man thinking? He wondered as the girl, Ayame, hovered over him, looking worried. He attempted to smile, but bet it looked more like a grimace than anything. Nodding gratefully, he accepted the offered handkerchief.

"Oh, Yusuke-kun. You also think it's a great idea?" the Hokage asked at the exact moment. Yusuke froze before furiously trying to get the noodles down so he could speak, only to be rendered speechless when he did by Naruto's sparkling puppy eyes and the Hokake's kind, but twinkling one.

_I will not fall for it. I will not fall for it, _Yusuke chanted to himself. _Just don't look at those eyes-_

He sighed. "Fine, fine, fine," he groused out, giving in.

"Yatta!" Naruto shouted happily.

Yusuke scratched the back of his head, somewhat uncomfortable by Naruto's palpable happiness. "Don't blame me if I fail at taking care of him, though. I've never done this shit before."

"Language," the Hokage chided. "There's a child present. But as a matter of fact, I think you will do quite well as a parent."

_"You may be a dimwit, but I know you'll try your best for your child," _Genkai smiled at him in a moment of rare affection._ "Rest easy, Yusuke, your kid can't hope for a better father."_

His child passed before he could be born, in a moment of human foolishness. But no matter how much he tried, he could never hate mankind, the very people he risked his life for time after time. It didn't stop him from wishing things were different though. Yusuke live for the future, but at reflective times, he simply wished everyone could just live together in peace. It seems like Kuwabara and he are more alike than they think.

"Neh, neh," the hyperactive blond said, bringing Yusuke's attention to him. "Can I call nii-chan? I never have one before."

Yusuke smiled. "Sure," he agreed. He was rewarded with a bright, sunny smile. "It's nii-san, though. You're not chan-ing me."

"Okay, Yusuke-nii!"

And that was that.

Xxx

A few days later found Naruto and Yusuke getting along considerably well… Or not.

"Yusuke-nii, where are my socks?"

"In that same drawer where you put your frog."

A few moments later.

"Yusuke-nii, I can't find my pj."

"It's in your room.

"Yusuke-ni-"

"What?" he exclaimed, flinging toothpaste everywhere.

The sight of his nii-san with a toothbrush protruding his mouth along with a mouth full of toothpaste was too much. Naruto took one look at him and promptly laughed his ass off. In fact, he was laughing so hard that he didn't even notice his nii-san sneaking up on him.

"Gah!" Naruto exclaimed as he was tackled to the floor, and was proceed to be tickled to senselessness. He giggled and laughed, so hard that he was choking on his very own breath.

"That'll teach you about laughing at me, you brat," Yusuke nodded in satisfaction, finally stopping at the giggling lump before him.

It was decided that the two should move in together so Yusuke could take care of Naruto. However, one look at Naruto's former apartment had the two adults cringing. The Hokage was not pleased at all, so he moved them to another location. Telling Yusuke not to worry about the cost for now and he gave him a huge sum to take care of Naruto.

"Trust me," the Hokage said. "You'll need it."

Thinking back at Naruto's huge appetite at the ramen stall, Yusuke was inclined to agree. Now, Yusuke not only have to take care of a kid, but has to budget his money as well.

"C'mon, Naruto. Let's go to bed," Yusuke said, helping Naruto up. The hyperactive blond pouted, but complied.

Xxx

"Hokage-sama, is this wise?" Ibiki asked. "We don't know anything about the man's background, or even if what he said was true. If he turns around and betray the village after getting close to the jinchuuriki, Uzumaki might follow as well."

"Ibiki, if you've met Yusuke-kun, you'll understand. He is straightforward and not the type to do something like that. If you still don't trust my judgment-" the Sandaime held up a hand to stop Ibiki's protest. "You can observe Yusuke-kun and see for yourself."

The head of the Torture and Interrogation Force accepted the invitation and let the discussion slide as of that for now. He headed towards the door.

"Ibiki," the Hokage said when his hand was on the doorknob. "Please give me a copy of your findings as well."

His eyes widen just a millimeter before nodding, and turned the doorknob. For all that he appears, Ibiki thought as he stepped out of the room, the Hokage still has the subtly of a shinobi.


	5. After School

"Oi, jiji," Yusuke started as he ambled towards the academy. It took him a while to learn and memorize where everything was, including a few embarrassing incidents of him getting lost, but he finally got it down. "I never asked, but how does this ninja system work?"

He eyed at the ninjas that were literally hopping from roof to roof and the reaction from the people, all acting like it was normal occurrence. It was, of course and that took a while to get used to. It was like having dozens of Hiei around him, though few have his attitude.

So into his sightseeing, he almost bumped into the Hokage, who stopped in the middle of the street. "Jiji?" he asked, wondering if he was offended by his lack of formalities after all. The man himself said he didn't mind, but everyone made such a big deal out of it.

"Yusuke-kun, you honestly don't know what a ninja is?" he asked, eyes searching for any hint of dishonesty.

"I told you before. I don't know," he said. Here, he improvised a little, so his background was not a lie while not telling the Hokage about the Demon World. It won't do well to tell them about it yet when he doesn't know how they'll react. He doesn't want to inadvertently cause a war between the two races, after all. "Where I come from, there isn't much ninja. There are only about a dozen of them or so, and they usually stay in the shadow."

He thought about Jin and Toya. The last time he heard from them was centuries ago, before the nuclear war. They were in Human World at the time, although he was pretty sure they survived. He grinned inwardly at a sudden thought. Wouldn't it be cool if Jin and Toya were the ones who created this system? They did say they wanted to spread their influence.

"I see," the Hokage said, bringing Yusuke out of his thought. He began walking again, which prompted Yusuke to follow. "Hmm... this complicates things." _So he is from a small, presumably civilian village. That does explain how he was so clueless about some common knowledge a ninja should know. He himself isn't one._

The rest of their walk was silent, each mulling over a different topic that was originated by their talk. When they finally arrived at the academy, the Sandaime spoke.

"Yusuke-kun, please meet me here tomorrow. I'll have to see what level you are at and assign you a rank."

Yusuke nodded as the bell rang. Students came rushing out like water out of a dam, each going to their respective parents.

"I'm going to leave, Yusuke-kun. I bet there are myriads of paperwork on my desk by now," the Hokage grimaced. Yusuke laughed and waved as the leader of Konoha continued on his way. It seems like all leaders hate paperwork.

Yusuke stood there for a moment before remembering what he was here for. _Oh, shoot, _he thought, quickly scanning the much thinner crowd. _Where's Naruto? Don't tell me I messed up on the first time of picking up the kid from school!_

True enough, "the kid" wasn't there. _Aw! Fail. _He mentally shouted a shame on you to himself. _Do I have enough time to get back before Naruto?_

He tried to do the calculation, but came up empty. _Oh, well, _he slowly ambled back the way he came from, fully knowing that at the rate he was going, he was going to arrive back to the house later than Naruto. His mind unwittingly flashed back to the first day of them living together and Naruto returned from schooling.

_The door opened with an audible click, causing Yusuke to reflexively look towards it. Naruto was standing by the door._

_"Hey, brat," he casually greeted. "Welcome back." After that he turned back to the terrible soap opera he was watching (he was bored, okay? Bored!). A few seconds later, the sound of keys clinking against the floor reached his ears._

_"Naruto?" he asked, glancing towards him again. The kid was picking up his key, with one of his hand reaching out, the other rubbing his eyes furiously. "You okay?" he inquired, his voice laced with concern. He was half-way up from the coach before he got a response._

_"I'm fine," the blue-eyed child replied, his voice sounding slightly strange. "I'm going to my room," he muttered, his head bowed so blond hair covered his eyes as he brushed past him._

_Yusuke was debating whether to ask him about it or not, but when the sound of an overly dramatic cry from the TV drifted to his ears, he sat his ass down instead._

_The kid ended up staying in his room for over an hour and only when he called him to eat dinner did he come out. Their dinner, needless to say, was a quiet affair, but that night, not once had the smile that appeared on Naruto's face after emerging left._

Yusuke brushed off the memory as a person would do to a pest, only to recall what the Hokage told him the day before moving in with Naruto.

_"Naruto never known a parent's love and was hated just because he was born on the day our village was attacked. So to get attention, he makes a lot of trouble. He is seeking acknowledgement of his existence in any possible way. He acts tough, but he is truly suffering…"_

_What's with all these flashback today? _He thought. _Gee. _Yet… The image of the first day he met Naruto came to his mind, all alone and lonely compared it to the smile that night. His heart grew heavier with the image, weighted down by guilt.

_Yusuke, you're such as fucking softie, _he scolded himself. _What would Hiei say?_

Except even as these thoughts ran through his mind, his legs were already moving. He suddenly grinned despite himself. _But then again, _he thought, carefully dodging a pedestrian. _Since when did I care about what other people say?_

Xxx

He slammed his hand against the door, preventing Naruto from opening it. There was a moment of awkward silence as the two stared at each other. A pair of blue eyes held confusion, surprise and a hint of fear while the other pair was blank, as if the owner doesn't know what to say.

"…Sorry," the older of the two finally said. "I was going to pick you up from your academy, but stuff happened and I missed you. I'll get you tomorrow, okay?"

Yusuke attempted a sheepish grin, but it was feeble compared to his usual ones. He felt like he failed at being a brother or something. He took the title lightly enough in the beginning, but for somewhere along the line, he started to care about Naruto. It just happens that he could never stand letting down ones he care about.

Naruto snapped out of his shock at his nii-chan's words. "You… you don't have to pick me up if you don't want to," he said, attempting to be unselfish. He doesn't want to scare his nii-chan off with a lot of requests. Yusuke could tell, even with his little observation skills, that he was happy about it though.

"Nah. I'll go," he assured, relaxing now that the threat of Naruto being unhappy passed. He removed his hand from the door. _Oops…_ he thought. If one looked closely, they could see his handprint on it. _Too much force._ Hopefully no one would notice…

Naruto opened his mouth to thank him, but couldn't find any word to describe that warm feeling at his heart. So he simply (and slowly) clasped both his hand around his Yusuke-nii's much larger one and squeezed, hoping to convey his feeling through that action. Yusuke looked down at his charge for a second, his expression unreadable before gently squeezing back.

"C'mon," he opened the door and ushered the kid inside. "We look ridiculous standing there."

Naruto followed with a smile, his hands still clasp around his nii-chan's hand.


	6. Sadist I

Yusuke swung both of his feet back, body leaning slightly forward to build up momentum. His grip tightened a little as he began moving forward. Then, he pushed his legs out with all his might, wind rushing towards his exposed face at the great speed. He grinned widely at the feeling, relishing at what he hadn't been able to do for a while.

Up ahead, he could see the Hokage, followed by a… woman?

Yusuke jumped off the swing, not even bothering to wait for it to settle. "Hey, Jiji," he casually greeted, hands in his pocket as his feet touched the ground with such ease that only came with lots of past experience. "Who's this?"

"Brat, don't you know it is polite to first introduce yourself?" the purple-haired lady said, standing practically right in front of his face. Yusuke didn't step back like many others would. Instead, he cockily talked back.

"Brat?" he asked, greatly amused. "You must be an old hag then."

His body reacted even before he could truly comprehend why. He gracelessly threw himself back, his arms coming up to block something. Relying more on instinct than anything, he narrowly dodged _something_ that was glimmering in the air. He hadn't had a close call like _that_ for a while, and he still don't know what the hell he was dodging. He skidded to a stop before darting again. If the lady still doesn't stop, he'll soon have to retaliate, since as much as he like battles, it is the fighting part (not the dodging part) that he enjoys.

"Anko, that's enough."

The _something _immediately stopped coming his way, and he knew the lady ceased throwing them. Taking a glance back at where he knew some of the things he dodge were, he found himself narrowing his eyes at these strange needles embedded on the ground. _I didn't know needles are fashionable weapons now days…_

He crossed about half the distance between him and the Hokage along with the lady, Anko, when he felt it: tiny pricks against his skin. Glancing down, he was surprised to see at least three of those needles on his apparel and at least one actually pierced his body. _Impressive. _Had it been anyone else, they would have been turned into a porcupine. Luckily, although Yusuke's speed was not great, his instinct was well tuned thanks to the millions of battles he had participated in. Also, since Yusuke was a half-demon, his skin was harder to break through.

He easily took out the needles and threw them behind him, taking a look at spots he felt prickles. Two needles drew droplets of blood on his palm and another nicked the side of his stomach. He licked the blood on his palm. They are nothing in his eyes. He had gone through far worse. Still…

"What the hell was that for?" he exclaimed as he reached the two. "I could have died if I didn't react quickly, you know."

"Stop being a baby," the mesh body suit wearing lady said, nonchalantly twirling more of those long needles. "These could hardly kill you." She then threw one at him just to prove her point.

Yusuke, now prepared and alert, easily caught it. He tossed it back to her. "What are these anyway?" he demanded.

Anko was in his space bubble before he knew it. She swabbed her thumb across the tiny 'wound' at the side of his stomach, licking the blood that was on it. "Yum, my favorite," she proclaimed, just to freak the teen before her out. It didn't quite work.

Yusuke rolled his eyes. He gotten used to blood and the ways demons eat are definitely more freaky than her little display. It did perturb him, just a little, that she seemed to like blood so much though. He wondered if she was not a demon in disguise. It wouldn't surprise him.

Anko pouted when all he did was roll his eyes. Not fun at all. He wasn't even bothered by the way she dresses.

"Yusuke-kun," the Sadaime finally stepped in, deciding to address Yusuke's question. "Those are weapons some ninja use. They are called senbon. Although they have little killing power, they can easily be thrown with great accuracy. "

He paused, wondering if he should tell the teen about the other uses of senbon. Maybe he shouldn't since the adolescent was already against killing? A glance at Yusuke-kun's direction made him change his mind. He was not impressed at all and that's not good. At this rate, young Yusuke will look down upon enemies that use senbon and those who underestimate their adversary will die young and might even pull their teammate down. The Hokage cannot risk it.

"However," he continued. "A user with proper medical knowledge can effectively use senbon to incapacitate or even kill their target by aiming at vital spots. Users can also poison the tip of the senbon and since they're small, they're also harder to see and dodge," Hiruzen finished. He snuck a glance at Yusuke-kun to see his reaction. Hopefully, it won't too bad.

Yusuke wore an oddly pensive look, which completely contrast from his normally easy-going attitude. Then, seemingly to have come to a conclusion, his eyes moved to Hiruzen's and gave him a small reassuring smile.

"This weapon somehow fits you completely," Yusuke spoke. It took the Hokage a few seconds to realize he was speaking to Anko. At their questioning look, he explained, "Senbons can disable the enemy, but have little killing power." He smirked. "Perfect for your resident sadist, no?"

Anko blinked owlishly, unintentionally repeating what the Sandaime had down just before, before going into full blown laugher. "Oh no," she bellowed in her mirth to stay coherent. "I may be a sadist, but Ibiki takes the cake. Met him?"

At Yusuke's shake of head, she stopped laughing. "You need to meet him," she suddenly declared, grabbing Yusuke by the arm. She ignored the way Yusuke stared at where the two distinct appendages met. "He'll like you."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down," he said when the lady was all but ready to drag him off to meet another sadist. "I'm not going." One was enough, thank you.

At Anko's petulant pout, he elaborated.

"One," he began, pulling his arm away from Anko so he could put up one finger in front of her face. "Who said I'm going to meet this Ibiki guy. He doesn't sound all that pleasant from what I heard."

"Two," he continued, putting up another finger next to his index. "You're not dragging me off to…" he gestured vaguely. "Where ever you wanted me to go."

"And three?" she prompted, sensing a moment of weakness and attacking it like a good kunoichi. Yusuke faltered, causing Anko to grin widely. "You're coming with me."

"Wait, wait, wait," he exclaimed desperately. He held up the third finger. "Three…" he started. "… Three, I don't want to?"

The two stared at each other, Anko's face blank while Yusuke's look childishly hopeful. Maybe he won…? Then, the purple-haired lady smiled brightly, crushing the half-demon's dream.

"That doesn't count," she nearly sang out, glancing at Yusuke in triumph. "No more?" she teased. Taking Yusuke's silence as his defeat, she began to once again drag him off to god-know-where. "Let's go."

Yusuke was about to resign to his fate when he heard it. His savior. Ah, the most beautiful sound ever… okay, not really.

The Hokage cleared his throat, an extremely amused smile graced upon his face. "And fourth," he picked up where the adolescent left off. "We came here to test Yusuke-kun power level."

At Yusuke's grateful and Anko's peevish look, he chuckled, finishing what he was saying."So Anko, don't drag him off now. Wait a while and you can introduce him to Ibiki afterwards." The two's look switched, making it harder for the Sandaime to hold in his cackle. Who said the perpetual kind Hokage doesn't have a d_evil_ side.

Xxx

_What the…? _Yusuke stared wide eyes in obvious surprise. Those trees... mutated beyond belief and incredibly wild. _Kurama would love to study them, _he thought, albeit sadly. He still hasn't found him during the time he was in Konoha.

Anko grinned at his look. "Welcome," she introduced dramatically, "to the Forest of Death."

"We're going to fight here?" he queried, perking up slightly at the prospect of a fight.

"Somewhat," Anko replied with a shrug. "This forest's radius is about ten kilometers, diameter around twenty. Your task is simple. Reach from this side of the forest all the way to the other side. Don't bother trying to cheat. Only the gate directly across from this one is opened. The rest forty-two gates are locked."

Anko then tossed him a large wrapped up package. Yusuke almost dropped it at the unexpected heaviness of it.

"What is this?" he asked as he adjusted to the weight. "It looks like a sword."

"It is," the Hokage confirmed. "It's one of Konoha's most precious swords, Zangetsu."

"Why would you give me a sword?" Yusuke replied, perplexed. He glanced at the wrapping.

"Yusuke-kun, your task is to leave the forest with the sword unscathed. It is extremely important and has been around since the founding of Konoha, so be very careful with it. If scratched or fallen into the wrong hand, the consequence would be dire. Anko would slow you down and attempt to stop you from reaching the end. Your ranking depends on the speed you arrive and how well you survive in the wilderness."

Yusuke sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "Surviving in the wilderness is easy, but the rest is so complicated," he complained at the Sadaime's explanation.

"You're dismissing me as a threat?" Anko questioned her voice hardening.

Yusuke laughed. "No way. I know some women who are way stronger than men." He thought about Genkai, Mukuro, Natsume, and Kokou. All of them are incredibly strong and he would be an idiot if he underestimates women after meeting them.

Anko narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Yusuke for a second, before accepting that statement as the truth. "Good," she smiled, clasping his arm. "I would hate for you to lose a limb after all. Chasing down a disabled prey is no fun."

_Definitely a sadist_. Outwardly, he said, "Let's go now. I'm ready for some excitement after days without doing anything."

The Hokage smiled at Yusuke's excitement and gestured for Anko to open the gate. "I wish you luck, Yusuke."

"Thanks," Yusuke said, looking back at the Hokage. "But I got skills." Then, he leapt into the forest without a backward glance.

Anko gave him a ten minute head start, enjoying the dango she brought with her. Once the time was up, she followed.


	7. Forest of Death

It turned out that the brat was surprising well adapted in forests, if the ease and speed he was going at was anything to go by. She gave him a ten minute heard start, but it looked like she would have to get moving if she want to have some fun.

At first, his steps were slightly clumsy, probably due to the size and weight of the sword, since his trail was quite visible: A dented bark here, a crushed sapling there, a foot print elsewhere. These things made it quite easy to follow him and she only had to use the bare minimum of her tracking skills to gauge his path. The signs grew less and less as time passed however, and it appears that he has gotten used to it.

He stayed on the ground instead of on the trees, unlike most ninja. Does he not know how to? Hokage-sama did say his charka control was terrible.

Anko leapt from tree to tree with an ease that only came with experience. She wondered if he'll run away with the sword, with it being so valuable and all. _That is_, she thought, _if Konoha actually have such sword._

The truth was that there was no sword called Zangetsu. They only made it up to see if Yusuke was trustworthy and reliable enough with 'Konoha's treasure.' Of course, it's also to see how well he can survive in the wilderness. The difficultness of holding the sword was also on purpose, to test his physical strength. Anko's presence was to understand his personality. To know whether he would underestimate woman or not, was he susceptible to seduction, and if he would fall to prey and be afraid of another's bloodlust.

The other part was true though. His rank does depend on how well he did to reach the end of the forest. Anko suspected he was somewhere her level, if not higher. _Doesn't mean I can't have fun, though._

Xxx

Yusuke was getting annoyed and bored. He was honestly looking forward to this, since there were little people to spar with. Back in Demon World, although many love to fight, few were up to his caliber. Those who were would fight him, but not as often as he would like, since they have business to take care of. Only Hiei was as bored as him, so they spared often. Sadly, they spared so frequently that it came to the point where they could normally predict each other's movement. Therefore, the two adversary spent most of their time dodging attacks that they could already predict instead of their desperately want of punching the daylight out of each other.

Now, Yusuke was by no means a sadist or a masochist but he hardly could consider it a brawl without at least a few bruise. The point he was getting at was simply that he was disappointed that no one came to fight him yet, especially after all this high expectation.

He sighed as he jumped over a fallen branch, the sword he swung over his bag scrapping yet another tree trunk. Hopefully that won't leave a mark on the sword. It if does… well, no one ever said Yusuke wasn't a vindictive bastard.

Suddenly, he was aware of something was heading towards him. He leaned back a slightly, dodging it was the minimum of effort on his part. It would have looked so much better if he didn't almost topple over, failing to factor in the sword's weight on his back.

"I found you," Anko sang out, almost giddy.

"Hey," he called out when he regained his balance. "I thought you use senbons. What are these?" he inquired, holding up a kunai.

Her lips curved to a nasty smile. "You don't think I'll reveal all tricks I have up my sleeve, do you?" Her eyes sharpen to one of a predator, and without any preamble, threw a barrage of kunai at the teen.

Yusuke hastily dodged, but speed was never his forte and he was hit by quite a few of those weapons. All he could say was they hurt a hell lot more than senbons. _On the bright side, I can finally fight._

Suddenly, the air was getting hotter and hotter. _What?_

"Katon: Ryuka no jutsu," was all he heard before fire rushed at him.

Anko stood there watching impassively as the fire head towards him. The brat won't even know what hit him. Her eyes then caught a flash of blue. _Water jutsu?_

"Spirit gun!" Yusuke shouted, the force of his energy splitting the ball of fire in half. He quickly followed, coming out unscathed. In Anko's surprise, she wasn't prepared when he rushed at her, throwing a quick jab. Reflexively, she dodged, only for him to throw his other fist at her.

She slid off the branch at the force of the punch, flipping over to land on her feet. As soon as she did, he was there again. She danced back, realizing he probably prefer close-combat, something she wasn't good at. She needed distance between them.

It didn't work. She heard another "Spirit gun," although it was much smaller than the one before. She did another Dragon Fire Technique, making the necessary hand signs, purposely matching the amount of chakra he used, and blew. Not waiting to see the outcome, she then took out a few kunai and threw it after the fire so Yusuke-chan would be pleasantly surprised. This was getting more interesting.

Xxx

"Crap. Again?" he asked, watching his spirit gun collided with Anko's technique. He impatiently waited for it to clear up, not one to back out of a fight. However, by the time he could see after they canceled out each other, Anko was nowhere near. "Damn," he said as he dodged the 'knifes.'

He slid out of his fighting stance, but remained alert. Briefly, he considered chasing her, but his sense at sensing energy was so bad that he'll probably get lost. With a sigh, he pulled out the 'knifes' that actually got him. None of them were bad, not that he could do anything about it, of course. So with no other option, he simply continued his way.

Xxx

_What the…?_ He have been running for what seemed to be hours but no matter how long or fast he ran, he didn't seem to be getting any closer to the end. It's like he was walking in circles…

_"Nii-san, help me with this. I don't get it!" Naruto exclaimed._

_"Get what?" Yusuke asked, sitting next to Naruto on the coach. He sipped his cup of coffee._

_"This," he answered, pointing at the page titled Genjutsu._

_"Genjutsu techniques manipulate the flow of chakra in the victim's brain, thus causing a disruption in their senses," he read out loud.__" They are created when a ninja extends their chakra flow through the cerebral nervous system of their opponent to control their mind's chakra, thereby affecting their five senses. While this is often used to create false images or to cause pain from trauma, there are plenty of other uses depending on the situation."_

The last few words echoed through his mind. Could this be… a genjutsu? But… he would have felt it, right? As soon as he thought that, he wanted to slap his head. He did feel something. It felt unusual and everything, but he dismissed it since he was used to it. He blamed Hiei. The Shorty hates talking and everything, so sometimes he used his Jagan to 'talk' directly to him. People also won't over hear their conversation that way.

Yusuke have gotten used to Jagan's intrusion and as a result, didn't think much of the much smaller ones. Especially since Hiei always use Jagan to 'poke' his mind to know he was there, respecting his privacy. Times he doesn't, well… he still remembered the time when Jaganshi rummaged through his past thoughts because "he was bored."

Years of living didn't cure Hiei's insensitivity and his action left a tear in his mind barrier when Yusuke desperately tried to pull Hiei's intrusion out of the deep inner parts of his mind. After that, for weeks he was plagued by nightmares of everyone he killed or failed to save. During the day, doubts remained on his mind. He became afraid to fight, because he never thought through his actions while enjoying a brawl and with his new found power, killing a being was sometimes as easy as snubbing out an ant. He went through a period where he stopped fighting just as Raizen stopped eating.

When Hiei found out, he paid him a visit. That was probably the only time he have seen the fire demon so apologetic and truly regretful. He promised to give him a 'poke' whenever he goes into his mind to talk telepathy and taught him the proper way to push unwanted intrusion out. He also used his Jagan to guard his mind whenever he sleeps. Yusuke stopped having nightmares, but the doubts remained. That was when his other friends stepped in.

Those who he can fight against with full strength went and made him fight them one by one, each reminding him that he can always find them if he wants a brawl. That day, he lost to each one of them badly, even to Chu when he was sober.

"Don't get cocky," they said after beating him up, "there's no way you can kill us even if you want to." Then, they extended their hands out, and Yusuke gratefully took it. That was one of the few times after being a half-demon that he cried, and never before had he felt so light. After that, he rarely thought about the past mistakes and soon went back to the brawl loving Yusuke that they all know.

Hiei probably never forgot the incident though, every time he 'poke' his mind and Yusuke never forgot the things he learned.

Who would have ever thought it would be useful one day? He mused. Yusuke shook off his somber mood and grinned, trying to remember Hiei's instruction.

_"If you want someone out of your mind, you have to force them out. Your mind is your own, so you are in control of it. If you want someone out, they _will _get out if your mind and will is stronger than theirs. If not, disrupt your flow of energy. It can be anything from stopping it for a second or speeding it up. If it still doesn't work, a physical sense of pain should get them out."_

Yusuke concentrated intensely. Controlling his spirit energy was never his forte. He put an imaginary block, cutting his flow of energy and making him feel incredibly uncomfortable, like someone cutting off the flow of blood. Then, he gathered the spirit energy and gave a heavy push, causing his energy to rush through him for a second. His finger tingled like a pre-spirit gun. When his energy finally flowed at a normal pace, he looked up and knew something was different.

Xxx

Anko's eyes eventually went back to Yusuke-chan. This is so boring. It has been five hours since she trapped him in that genjutsu. Just how long does it take for him to realize he is walking in circles? She wished she could just stop it so she could draw some blood but _no_... she had to see how well rounded he was.

He apparently had no knowledge of shinobi's weapons whatsoever, if his reaction to senbons and kunai wasn't a big neon sign. He could use a ninjutsu, she guessed, if that 'spirit gun' counts, although she honestly couldn't figure out what affinity was that. His taijutsu was great, since he prefers close combat and had a terribly strong punch. Her stomach still sports the bruise, so his strength was also great. Intelligence, not as much and neither was genjutsu, since he still didn't escape. Great stamina too, and okay speed for a civilian…

Then a terrible thought came to her. He's not originally a ninja so he might _never_ realize he was in a genjutsu and with his stamina, it was going to be a while before he tire out. And she had to stay and observe. _No…! I want dango…_

She came out of her bemoaning when he suddenly stopped. She leaned forward in great anticipation. Did he finally realize? She stared and stared, but he only stood there. Birds were chirping, squirrels were running, centipedes were… right behind her. She spun around, kunai already in hand and was faced with two crazily large centipedes. Crap.

She jumped back, not wanting to confront since that would alert Yusuke-chan of her presence, but they attacked. She threw five kunai at them just as she heard "spirit gun." She turned her head slightly to see a blast of pure blue energy heading towards her.

She cursed. She didn't know how powerful those 'spirit guns' are and didn't really want to find out. It was her fault for getting distracted, though, and now she pays the price. She braced herself for the impact.

She could imagine and hear it so clearly: The blast of energy hitting against skin and it exploding. Wait, what? She opened her eyes, only to be greeted with exploded remains of the centipedes. She quickly used Body Flicker but was a second too late, and the corpses, green goo and all, fell on her.

Xxx

Yusuke tried resisting the urge to chortle. He really did. But the look Anko had on her face when she finally climbed out of the mess was as funny as hell. He thought his face was red from trying to hold back the mirth, and honestly believes that at that rate, his face would also explode. That would do any good, right? So he doubled over and laughed. And laughed. And laughed some more at her even more tomato-like face.

He only stopped when she threw a 'knife' at a very, very dangerous and off limit place. Somewhere near the lower region. Then, he saw the Devil. It was truthfully one of the scariest things he has ever seen. He had years of experience of fighting demons, but at that moment, the Devil in front of him was more demon than anything else. He did a reasonable thing. He ran, with a variety of weapons flying behind him. Oh, and don't forget about fire and plenty of snakes.

For all the Toushin that Yusuke was, he never thought through his action and consequences. That just happened to be one of them. But on the bright side, he got out of the forest at a record of time… from the location of the centipedes to the gate, that is. With a very green looking Anko at his tail.

* * *

><p>Double the usual update in terms of words! I feel so proud of myself. Sorry to say Zangetsu is only an one-time appearance. I love him, but the story would be all messed up if I threw him in, cause I'll try to throw other people in as well.<p>

And the information about genjutsu once again, as you all know it, came from naruto wikia.

**Notes:**

"Everyone he killed or failed to save": If you read the YYH manga, you would know that Koenma's father was brainwashing weak demons to make them attack humans and portray the Spirit World as the Human World's protectors. Yusuke's feeling guilty because those who he killed in the past might actually be innocent. The "failed to save," as everyone know, refers to the Human World ending episode.

Centipedes: "She threw five kunai at them just as she heard 'spirit gun.'" Anko could have easily taken care of the centipedes, but Yusuke just happen to like saving people. If I didn't make it clear enough, Anko thought Yusuke was shooting at her, being the pessimist that she was.


	8. Decision

A little reminder that **there won't be any pairing**, simply because I find it hard to write a story without focusing on a pairing completely. Thanks for the wait and enjoy.

* * *

><p>Anko walked down the streets, dragging an unmoving Yusuke behind her. She had bonded him with wire strings, so much that he could hardly move without the strings cutting into his skin. While he could certainly get out with a little more effort than he was currently putting forth (which is none), he didn't care enough to bother. There was nothing Anko could do to truly affect him and he was at fault, just a little, for being unable to stop snigger at her new green coating.<p>

He craned his neck and looked up, intending to have another laugh at her slim covered form, only to let out a whistle.

"Hey, nice underwear. Didn't think it would be pink, though," Yusuke commented, unabashed. He waited to see what she would do.

Anko paused in her steps to swirl around and stare at him for a few seconds. Seeing the glint of challenge in his eyes, she grinned and boldly walked forward, allowing him to have an even better view. Droplets of the slim dripped down as she leaned forward, cradling his face with one hand. Yusuke pressed his palms against the ground in order to not fall backwards as Anko's lips met his, neck cracking as it was bent even lower at the force the lady's kiss.

_What the fuck? _That was all he could think when a pair of teeth clamped onto his lower lip and bit, hard enough to draw blood. There was a grin as Anko stepped backward, lips tinted red. Her tongue darted out and swiped over it.

"Kinky," was all Yusuke managed to get out after all that happened. That was not what he was expecting. "Going to bring me back to your apartment next?" He was joking.

Laughter erupted from Anko's throat, lighting up her face. "Knew I liked you for a reason. But no, even if you are hot."

"Hmm… Too bad." He stood, stretching his arms out. At first, he was met with resistance but the strings were no match for a demon's strength and they quickly snapped. A few cut into his skin, although they were as light as paper cuts. Anko stared at him.

"Why didn't you escape if you could have?" she demanded, eyes narrowed.

Yusuke moved his limbs around to get blood flowing again and shrugged. "Didn't feel like it." He then proceed to take off his outwear and draped it across Anko's shoulder. "C'mon." he said, completely ignoring the lady's bewildered look. He ambled forward. "Can't have the Jiji waiting long."

"Brat," she muttered as she sped-walked to catch up to Yusuke. "Don't think I'm not taking revenge just because of this," she warned, gesturing to the jacket.

Yusuke grinned. "Didn't think you would. You didn't seem to be the kind care much about it."

Except she did.

Xxx

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded absentmindedly at the orb before him, having to expect the outcome he had witnessed. Yusuke-kun was truly strong and had the potential to become even more so, since he didn't know any shinobi techniques and still managed to defeat a Tokubetsu Jōnin. He would become an individual to fear in the future.

There was this niggling doubt in the back of his mind though, asking was it wise to give so much power to one so young. _Power corrupts,_ it whispered warningly. The thought was dismissed rather quickly, however. Yusuke-kun disliked killing, as he had already expressed during their first meeting. Besides, as much as the Hokage hates to admit, he would rather give the teen a weapon he knows of than to allow him to learn techniques unsupervised. That way, he could at least control what the teen learns, as he knew the adolescent would undoubtedly do.

Seeking to learn isn't something Yusuke-kun would do consciously since he seems to hate any kind of schooling, but one who seeks battle would certainly gain power by learning from experience. Hiruzen rather hand him a weapon that may or may not be used against Konoha than to eventually push the teen to using a weapon from another country that the Hokage has no control over.

The saying a wise man had once told him came to his mind: _"Keep your friend close, as they are the most important to you, keep your enemy closer, as they are the ones you need to watch out for to protect those friends, but ultimately, it is the potential enemy you have to keep closest. Why? It is because as much as they are potential enemies, they can also be potential allies. If they do turn out to be the enemy, well, you have been watching what they've been up to all along, haven't you?"_

This is exactly how he ended up treating Yusuke-kun, a potential something that could either help or destroy them all. Allowing him in Konoha without too much of a question was to gain his trust, but also because Hiruzen could feel it, deep within his aged bones, that he will be (or is it is?) a force to be reckoned with. In a world where knowledge is power, he was compelled to letting a walking bomb into his home in order to know more about it. It was this inquisitive part of his mind that lead him to the moniker "The Professor," and perhaps it was that part that Orochimaru took after. A deep part within him still ached like a festered wound at the name and it was only strengthened by his only surviving student's arrival.

He had known they were there even before the two childish fighters knocked, having to sense their chakra signature. Sitting up a little straighter as the door swung opened, he could only blink bemusedly at the unexpected sight. He had only watched Anko and Yusuke fight and had not seen anything after Anko trapped Yusuke-kun in a genjutsu. Therefore, he didn't know what happened and the scene before him was a complete surprise.

Anko was wearing her customary mesh body suit and dark orange mini-skirt, but on top of it was what he believed was Yusuke's outerwear. There also seemed to be splatters of goo(?), from what he could see. Just what happened?

"Hokage-sama," Anko greeted, saluting. Her companion, on the other hand, wasn't so polite.

"Jiji," he said casually, lifting his hand up briefly in greeting. Anko tensed up for a moment at such impudent greeting and glanced towards the Sandaime to gauge his reaction. He didn't react to the lack of formality though, so she let it drop.

"Anko, Yusuke-kun," Hiruzen responded, a small but kind smile spread across his face. "I hope you two weren't injured badly."

"Nah," the former human replied offhandedly. "They are nothing. Here," he said, swinging Zangetsu off his back and presenting it back to the Hokage. The man in return stood up to received it. Settling back in his seat, the elder then took off the cloth to examine the sword. Off to the side, Yusuke fidgeted ever slightly in guilt, remembering all the time the precious sword was slammed into a tree.

The Hokage looked up from the sword and thanked Yusuke. "You are now dismissed, Yusuke-kun. I'll call you back here when I have a mission for you."

Thankful the sword didn't appear to be too damaged, Yusuke gave the old man a faint grin. "Okay. See you guys around then." He strolled out of the room and close the door behind him.

The two occupant of the room spoke a few seconds after Yusuke's exit. "Anko, the report?"

Anko snapped to attention. "Hai." She then proceeded to describe what happened in the forest in detail as well as her analysis of Yusuke's strength and weakness. Hiruzen nodded thoughtfully as she finished.

"The only technique that was even remotely shinobi-like is Yusuke-kun's 'spirit gun,' which is made of pure chakra. Interesting." Anko nodded. "What rank would you give the move?"

The woman in the room paused for a second before replying, "A-rank. It was powerful enough to reduce two large centipedes to only green goo." She wrinkled her nose as she glanced down at her goo splattered outfit. She definitely needed revenge. "There also weren't any solid remains left afterwards and I believe some were disintergrated," she added.

The Sandaime nodded. "Anko, if I'm correct, currently you are not occupied with anything, right?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

The old man smiled. "Good. Then please teach Yusuke-kun the basic knowledge of shinobi. It would be easier to send him to the academy, but I doubt he would be amused with the arrangement."

Anko bit back a guffaw at the image of teenage Yusuke sitting among kids. He would undoubtedly stand out. A sadistic part of Anko (which was the majority part) wanted to say she was busy just so he would be stuck there, but another more intelligent part say why not torture him herself. The latter part easily won, so she simply nodded while planning all the torture she could make him go through and claim it was training.


	9. Training Begins!

A loud snore came out of Yusuke's mouth as he slept, blanket tossed haphazardly to the side. It is morning, a part of the former human could tell, yet he couldn't find it in him to get up. He was used doing whatever he wants at whenever time in the Demon World, including sleeping and waking, and perhaps that spoiled him since now he couldn't really get into any schedule. _Five more minutes, _he decided as he rolled to his side. _Five more minutes. _

On the third minute, his instinct was ringing as loud as an alarm clock. _Wha-?_ But the thought was never completed as he threw himself off the bed, only partly successful in evading the threat. Icy cold water drenched his arm and back, ice cubes plopping against his bare skin. Goosebumps quickly grew as he looked up from the floor.

"Anko!" he exclaimed as he stood, shivering. Even demons aren't immune to cold. "This is your revenge?"

The lady grinned. "Just waking you up," she replied innocently. "Get down by ten minutes. I'll treat you to a bucket full of kunai if you don't." With that, she dropped the container with a clang and jumped out of the opened window.

Yusuke stared after her blankly for a few seconds, before taking a look at his bed. He groaned. It was completely soaked and would probably take a few days for the surface alone to dry, meaning he would have to sleep elsewhere. _Damn, _he thought.

"Nine more minutes!" a voice below shouted. Yusuke wanted to tell her to shove it but he was getting cold anyway and needed to change. Plus a bucket full of 'kunai,' whatever that was, doesn't sound all too pleasant.

Xxx

"You're going to teach me?" Yusuke asked incredulously. At Anko's nod, he shook his head. "Who said I would agree to it?"

Anko shrugged nonchalantly before slowly reaching into her pocket. Then, quicker than civilian eyes could follow, she threw something at the teen, who could only bring his hand up to block due to the short distance between them. "What is that?" she questioned casually, nodding towards the kunai stuck in Yusuke's forearm.

"How the hell am I supposed to know?" Yusuke pulled the weapon out, and threw it back at her.

She easily caught it without batting a single eyelash. "That's exactly the point, Yu-chan," Anko said and made a show of licking the blood off quite thoroughly. She smirked at him with blood-coated lips.

Yusuke scoffed. "I don't need to know a weapon's name to beat the crap out of their owner. And stop trying to get me to freak out at that," he said, nodding at her little display. "I know people who are way more blood-loving than you."

Anko paused before pouting. "No fair. What kind of friends do you have?" Yusuke gave her a pointed look. "Anyway… you don't need to know the name, but you do need to know their uses. Like, Hokage-sama explained, senbons can't cause much harm, so in a battle, you might just wanna get stabbed a few times instead of dodging everything in order to win faster. But on the other hand, they could also be coated with poison, so you need to analyze the situation before reacting. Knowing the strong and weak points of a weapon could also help you decide how to approach a battle. This is what we need you to learn, not their name." Anko grinned at a thought. "Although it would be hilarious if you know everything about a weapon but not their name."

Yusuke scowled since even he could tell it makes sense. "Fine," he conceded, "but I'm only learning about common weapons like senbons. I'm NOT learning about weapons I would never come across in a fight. And don't get me started about history. That's a big no with all caps."

"Alright," Anko easily agreed. She held up the weapon that was in her hand. "Starting with this. This thing is a kunai, one of the most common tools for us along with shuriken, which I'll tell you about that later. It is designed for thrusting and stabbing..."

That went on for peacefully for another five minutes until Anko realized it was a little too peaceful. She turned towards the teen next to her, who was… sleeping. The lady's eyebrow twitched, especially when a snore came out of his mouth. _He is soo dead, _she thought.

Picking up the current tool she was teaching, which happened to be an explosive tag, she calmly wrapped it around a kunai as she stood. Moving a little backwards, she then infused it with chakra. The little paper already beginning to burn, Anko threw the kunai and embedded it on the ground next to Yusuke. Then, it exploded.

Smoke appeared instantly around the area, as Anko only stared unblinkingly at it, weapon readied. A shadow soon jumped out, coughing sound reaching her ears. Not one bit sympathetic, Anko swung in multiple of shuriken, and watched her target jumped out of the way.

"What the fuck, Anko?" Yusuke asked as he tried to regain his balance.

"What are these?" she asked as she threw in another batch of shuriken. Yusuke could only laugh nervously as he nimbly escaped the weapon like a monkey. That was all she needed. "No more playing nice," she declared. "I'm teaching you the hard way."

Right after the declaration, she began throwing weapon after weapon at the male, shouting out their respective names as the tools leave her hand. When she realized the weapons are not sharp enough to pierce through his skin, she infused chakra with them. It was simply Yusuke's unlucky day, as Anko had brought extra quantity and variety of weapons to teach him.

"Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap," was all Yusuke could say as he dodged and sometimes get hit. Soon he couldn't do even that. He was covered with weapons and was bleeding everywhere by the time he finally fell due to blood lost, which prompted Anko to cease the weapon assault.

She dashed forward and straddled him, placing a kunai against his bare throat. A smirk was on her face. "You're dead," she whispered. Pressing the kunai a little harder against Yusuke's neck, she drew blood.

"Kunai," Yusuke whispered, stopping Anko in her track. "It's a kunai, right?" he asked, ignoring how the tool was even pressed deeper against his throat every time he spoke. There was a tense moment between the two before Anko finally stood, withdrawing the kunai.

Yusuke immediately sat up, hand unconsciously going over to the wound on his neck. His finger came away with blood. "You didn't have to attempt to murder me," he said, shaking off the crimson liquid.

Anko shrugged, indifferently twirling the tool that almost killed the teen. "Your fault for not paying attention."

Yusuke frowned, but didn't argue. "Fine. Now what?"

"Now we continue what we were doing before," Anko grinned. "Only this time, I'm only throwing the weapons at you, while you are catching, dodging and shouting their name out."

"And if I don't remember…?"

"Don't worry," she replied cheerfully. "I'll throw as many as it is needed to get you to remember, even if I have to literally stab the knowledge in."

"But I won't get to know the usage of the weapon," Yusuke protested, not that he cared much about it. His body was riddled with enough weapons, thank you very much.

"Problem solved. I'll throw the same type of weapon at you while explaining for a period of time, so you better listen. After explaining all of them, I'll throw in a variety of tools at you and expect you to know their name. Once in a while, I'll test you on only one type of weapon, and have you give me their name and usage. If you still don't get the stuff memorized, well…" The lady's smile became even nastier. "I'm sure you can learn through firsthand experience," she said, gesturing to his weapon covered body. "Who knows? You might even gain enough muscle memory for your body to automatically categorize the level of threat different types of weapons are, all according to the amount of pain it causes you now. Then you would know what to avoid and what to take on if you can't escape a barrage of weapons unscathed. Wouldn't that be interesting?"

Yusuke only close his eyes in respond and bade his painless days farewell.

Xxx

"She. Is. Insane!" Yusuke declared, collapsing into a big mess onto the coach. He quickly stood when he realized he was covered in blood from head to toe from all the wounds. Blood stains are hard to clean up.

It had been days since he began the training and Anko was not letting up. Six hours of training each day wasn't enough for her, apparently, and she was working him to the bones, exhausting him despite demon endurance.

"Yusuke-nii?" Naruto's head poked out of his room. "Are you okay?" The blond froze at the sight of his nii-san covered in blood. He was aware that Yusuke-nii was training, but he always returned before him and said he was fine, so he didn't know training was that bad.

"No!" Yusuke almost whined, with his shoulders slumped. "She kept jabbing information into my head and tests me on them. Every time I don't remember something, she'll throw weapons at me."

He shoved a bloody arm under Naruto's nose. It was full of little holes and was covered in flakes of dried blood. It looked worst than it actually was though, since he wasn't given enough time to stop the blood. He remembered too late that Naruto wasn't supposed to know, especially since he was only a kid.

"Nii-san," Naruto asked in a small voice. "They hurt you?"

Yusuke cursed at his own stupidity. "Naruto, please don't cry," he begged. He easily picked up Naruto using his less bloodied arm and carried him to a sink. Turning on the faucet, he shoved his bloody arm under the water, and gestured the kid to watch. Flakes of dried blood melted with the water, changing to pinkish red. He dried his arm with a paper towel and presented it back to Naruto.

"Look, my arm is fine," he softly said.

"But you said-"

"I was… bragging, Naruto." The kid looked at him with confused eyes. "It's like saying 'oh, I hate my job. I only earn 100,000,000 ryo a day or something.'" He chuckled as Naruto's eyes widen at the huge sum.

"Why would they complain, then?" he asked.

"People get annoyed when others outright brag, so they use this complaining form of bragging," Yusuke explained. "That way, others will still know you earn 100,000,000 ryo a day, which is a lot more than others, and make them jealous without appearing to do that on purpose."

"Why are you bragging about a bloody arm then?"

"Well, it shows that I have friends that care enough to jab information into my head. I actually remember some stuff she taught me. In the beginning, I didn't know what a kunai was but now I know because of her."

Naruto giggled. "Nii-chan's stupid. Even I know what a kunai is."

Yusuke bonked the kid's head. "Now you're putting me down to brag about your knowledge."

Naruto childishly stuck his tongue out at his nii-chan before his eyes caught Yusuke-nii's hand. "Nii-chan, your arm is bleeding again."

Yusuke glanced at it and sure enough, it was. He looked back at Naruto. "You're not going to cry, right? It doesn't hurt."

"I wasn't going to cry!" Naruto protested. Yusuke smirked.

"Keep telling yourself that, and maybe it'll come true."

Naruto walked away with a hmph. Yusuke laughed, before going over to the coach and lying down, no longer caring if he had to clean it up. He was goddamn tired. He did dangle his bleeding arm off so it won't stain the coach though. He then closed his eyes and slept.

…

"Yusuke-nii. Yusuke-nii."

"Naruto?" Yusuke asked, slowly opening his eyes. He was greeted by a mob of blond hair.

"Go shower," Naruto said, pulling him up by less injured arm. "You stink."

"Hey!" Yusuke complained, throwing his hand out. Naruto dodged before pushing him towards the bathroom. Too tired to protest, he simply did as he was told. Once he got in, he stripped down and walked over to the bathtub with the intention of filling it with water. To his surprise, it was done for him. _No wonder Naruto urged me to take a shower._ Yusuke smiled as he blissfully sunk into the hot water. It was so nice and did wonders for his aching muscles.

He eventually came out of the bathroom, wearing the clothes Naruto provided. Seeing something on the coach, he walked over and sat down. It was the first aid kit. A glance at the spotless floor and coach told him Naruto also cleaned up the blood. Bubbling with happiness, he wrapped his arm with bandages, although the wounds were almost healed, a quirk of being a demon.

Then, he went inside Naruto's room to thank him, but he was asleep already. Yusuke allowed a content smile to spread across his face. "Thank you," he whispered, planting a kiss on his charge's forehead. Pulling the blanket a little closer to Naruto, he took one more backward glance before closing the door.

* * *

><p>"I know people who are way more blood-loving than you." I tried, SeanHicks4 , I really did.<p> 


	10. The Pupil and the Instructor

Anko's training of throwing weapons at Yusuke continued on for a few more days to make sure he remember all the common weapons' name and usage. When Anko was sure he remembered, she began teaching him how to actually use each weapon properly.

She began simply by showing him the ways to hold weapons according to the intention. "For example, you would hold a kunai like this when you want to stab someone," she explained, gesturing him to observe her grip. "Change it to something like this if you want to throw it," she said, changing her grip on the kunai as she spoke.

"I thought kunai are made for stabbing," Yusuke said.

"Yeah, but when you are desperate, you would use anything at hand," Anko answered. Yusuke nodded in understanding, remembering the time when he used spirit gun to blast him out of the water even though it was made to shoot people. She continued to explain a little more, then moving on to shuriken and explosive tag. Afterwards, she made him demonstrate the grip for the weapons and denote an explosive tag to show that he understood. The weapon grip was satisfactory, but it was the explosive tag that he has trouble with.

The speed explosive tags denote depends on how much chakra is infused with the paper. Just like how the more fire there is to lit up something, the faster it would burn, the more chakra the wielder put in, the faster it would denote. The problem with Yusuke was simply that he has absolutely no control over his chakra whatsoever, so when he put too much chakra, the explosive tags end up exploding in his face.

Yusuke hissed as the affects of the explosion begin to settle. He could feel his hand burning as though he placed them into boiling water, and his gelled hair was a messed. The worst part, however, was Anko's laugher.

"H-H," she laughed, trying to speak coherently, but failed miserably. She hardly cared though, as she was having the time of her life. Training Yusuke was fun, since she got to throw her weapons at a moving target, but this takes the cake. "T-This got to be the first time I've seen someone fail this badly. How much chakra did you put in it? I've never seen an explosive tag blow up in someone's face. The worst was when this rookie drop the kunai with the tag and it blew up at his feet. But this," she trailed off, taking in the look on Yusuke's face. She clutched her stomach and started laughing again.

"Oh, shut up, you crazy bitch," Yusuke growled when Anko continued on in her little world for a minute or so and showed no signs of stopping. He took a tentative glance at his hands. They were still red and throbbed like a bad sunburn, but his innate healing powers was at work. It would probably be all new by tomorrow night.

Anko finally stopped laughing, although her lips still twitched occasionally to a smirk. "C'mon, don't be a baby," she said. "How's your hands?"

Knowing he would probably say something along the line of fine (_Guys, really_), she didn't wait for a reply. Instead, Anko literally took them into her own hands and looked. She whistled. "That's some bad burn there," she observed, thumb sliding over one palm. Yusuke's eyebrow twitched, but there was no other reaction.

"Yeah? Tell me something I don't know," Yusuke replied, rolling his eyes as he tugged his hands back to his side. Anko narrowed her eyes at him for a second, debating whether or not to continue according to plan. Seeing that Yusuke did look exhausted though, plus the burn, she decided not to. She was a sadist, but even she knew where to draw the line.

"Don't get smart with me, Yusuke-_chan_," Anko said, watching as Yusuke's eyebrow twitch again, but made no move to respond. "Help me pick up the weapons." She gestured to the training ground floor. All too thankful that they are taking a break (being a moving target for around six hours each day does that to you), Yusuke didn't bother protesting. After storing the tools, Anko walked over to a sturdy looking tree.

"What are we doing?"

"Tree climbing," Anko answered, grinning at Yusuke's palpable confusion. "It's a way to gain better chakra control," she explained after she decided enough tension was built up. She nodded towards his hands. "So that doesn't happen again."

"Yeah? So what do I do?" he asked, never the one to sit still for long, injuries or no. Anko continued to smirk and chose to demonstrate. She walked up the tree vertically, not even needing to consciously measure the amount of chakra to use after years of practice. Reaching to one of the higher branches, she sat down and crossed her legs, then raised an eyebrow in challenge at Yusuke.

Yusuke, never the one to back down at anything, attempted to do the same. He had been watching and saw Anko put a layer of spirit energy (or chakra, as they call) at her feet. Doing the same, he ran up the trunk.

The only female present nodded in approval when she saw him focusing chakra at the sole of his feet. _He's learning. _She grinned when he went flying backwards after taking a step. Rolling to a stop, Yusuke fluidly stood and stared at the tree where a huge chunk of the bark was broken off. _Still doesn't have the control though. _

Yusuke tried again, only this time he was less impulsive, almost as if he was testing out something. Anko watched with great interest as he placed his foot against the trunk and was pushed off due to the excessive amount of chakra, only to repeat action again, but this time with less. He continued doing that for a while, correcting the amount of chakra as he went until he got the right amount. Then, with a glance in Anko's direction as if saying "_Watch me," _he walked up, all the way to Anko's branch without falling. Once or twice gravity seemed to try to take over, but he never followed the natural course, and this was no different. He threw a smirk at her as he took a seat on the branch next to her.

"Impressive. You do like going beyond expectations, don't you?"

Yusuke shrugged, but he didn't say anything; not about Genkai's training and certainly not about how it helped him. Genkai had trained him in several of way, all harsh one way or another. One included him having to balance himself up with only his finger on a needle to learn how to focus his energy. In order to not stab the needle through his finger when he balanced on top of it, Yusuke had to first find out the minimum of spirit energy needed in that finger to keep him balance. Then he had to keep the amount of energy constant for a total of twelve hours.

Yusuke simply changed it a little so the point he need to focus on was the soles of his feet. Figuring out the amount of energy was understandably harder, since unlike the needle where he simply need to throw out enough chakra to not get pierced, the tree climbing actually needed a specific amount of chakra, not more, not less. That took a while to get. Once he got it down however, the rest was easy, since he had practice of keeping energy level constant.

"Okays." Anko jumped off of the branch, landing on the soles of her feet. When Yusuke made a move to follow, she shook her head. "Not you, genius." She nodded at the tree trunk. "Walk down," she instructed.

The demon once again shrugged before walking down, Anko watching for any flaws to fix. "Well?" Yusuke asked as his feet hit the ground.

The lady grinned widely. "Not bad. You're a little wobbly and still have to watch the amount of chakra you put in, but nothing practice can't fix."

Anko watched Yusuke throw in her direction a cocky smirk and decided it need to be eliminated. With a fake hyped up voice, she said, "Now on to the next training!"

Yusuke stopped and stared at her like she was crazy, not that it was news but still... Yusuke coughed dramatically. "No break for me?" he asked, placing a hand on his left side as if heartbroken. He used the other to gesture to the tree where he was practicing like asking "Isn't this enough?"

"Sorry to say," Anko said cheerfully, ignoring Yusuke's snort. She was anything but sorry. "But…" she leaned forward as though sharing a secret. "You're outta luck."

"Well damn," Yusuke said standing up to his full height, not even realizing he leaned in along with Anko in the first place. She sure knew how to be suspenseful. "I knew you were the strict kind, but..." He clucked his tongue, shaking his head. Move his neck from side to side, just like he would when preparing for a fight, he eventually said, "Alright, lead the way."

The water surface walking training was considerably harder, because the amount of chakra that needs to be emitted changes constantly. Yusuke soon mastered that too, however, motivated by the scalding water beneath his foot should he ever misstep and fall in. He would remember this training every time he steps into a public bath, since he was practically a red lobster by the time he finally got it down. Man, the water was hot.

Of course, after mastering this chakra training method, he was forced to combine all his knowledge. These include using kunai and shuriken, the dreaded explosive tag, climbing up trees and water walking. Anko would be attacking and he would be expected to do the same if he still wanted to live. And so the battle commenced at the Konoha Hot Spring between not the pupil and instructor, but the equals. The end of the battle would be signified when one of them reach the training ground, or when one of them could no longer fight. It was truly an epic battle, one of the best in within Konoha actually (battles in the training ground doesn't count), although the main reason was because most people have more sense than to fight in the village, since they would have to repair all that was destroyed. Hiruzen, the Sandaime, was not amused by the bill. _Well, _he thought, trying to be positive. _At least there wasn't a hospital one too."_

Not that there weren't any injuries, of course, because believe me, there were plenty.


	11. Graduation

"No way," Yusuke said. "I told you from the start. I'm NOT learning any useless history."

"Too bad, brat, cuz you are learning it anyway." Anko replied casually, leaning against the tree beside the young man. "I'm not letting you drag Konoha down if you pissed off the wrong people."

Yusuke rolled his eyes. "So happy to hear you care about my safety."

The female only smile sweetly in return as she said, "I try, Yu-chan."

'Yu-chan' nearly shivered at the nickname, but held it back instead and stayed quiet. He knew nothing would defer the lady from using it. In fact, if he protested, she would probably use it even more instead. It was better to ignore it. "Anyway, you don't need to worry about that. I'm not even a ninja."

The smile morphed to one of confusion at the teen's words. "You're not?"

"Not really. I agreed that I would answer to Jiji, and in return, he won't force me to do things I won't like. That's all."

"You sworn to him as Hiruzen Sarutobi-sama, or as the Hokage?"

Yusuke appeared to be bemused for a few seconds before the meaning dawned on him. _Politics_. "I said I would answer to Jiji," he replied in exasperation. "Not to the Hokage or the village. Just him."

"Ah, I see." Anko nodded in understanding. So all the missions Yusuke take would only be like a personal favor of some sort. He has no loyalty to the village, or anyone rank above him. This means if a officer order him to do something, he is not obligated to do it since he is not officially a shinobi, even if he has the power to be one. A shinobi in everything but name and rank. Since he only had an agreement with Hiruzen Sarutobi and not any of his titles like Hokage, it also means that if the Third retire again and another person becomes the Hokage, Yusuke doesn't have to follow him/her.

"Don't think that would get you out of this lesson though. On paper you are probably a civilian, but you are still part of Konoha. You represent this village, so you messing with our allies is equivalent to Konoha messing with another country."

Yusuke groaned. "Our country doesn't have this shit. We only represent ourselves."

"Different countries follow different rules," she lectured. "Now suck it up. You're learning it, whining or not." Anko smiled. "You can even consider this as a short break if you like."

"Fine," Yusuke conceded as he always does with Anko, the ever logical one when they are not fighting.

"Good," Anko said. She then began explaining complicated foreign relations Konoha have with other countries, only to somehow end up talking about Kyuubi when, to explain the why, she told him about previous wars, such as the Third Shinobi World War that the Fourth was in.

"It was a fox?" Yusuke asked, sitting straight up at the mention of the demon being sealed.

Anko narrowed her eyes at him for the sudden interest. "Yeah. What of it?"

"How many tails does it have?" he questioned. Maybe it was Kurama.

"Six," she answered sarcastically, "Because that is totally the reason why it is called _Kyuu_bi."

"Nine," Yusuke concluded. He slumped back down against the tree trunk, not knowing if it was of relief or disappointed. On one hand, it was nice to know Kurama didn't get sealed and caged like some kind of animal (Kurama only had around four tails last he saw and he couldn't have gained five more in such short time) but on the other, it means he still doesn't have any hints as to where Kurama is. _Damn it, Kurama. _He looked up towards the sky._ Just where are you? _There was no answer. Yusuke let out a humorless laugh before standing.

"I'm going," he said. "I want to pick Naruto up since it has been a while since I've done that."

"Alright," Anko agreed easily. Normally she wouldn't let him go that easily, but she wanted to get away from the topic. The Hokage would never forget to tell Yusuke about the Nine Tails being sealed in the blondie, meaning the Sandaime purposely withhold the information. Anko shouldn't tell Yusuke about it either then, if that was the case. "Going to see if your brat graduated, huh," she said instead.

"Yea-," he began, only to cut his words off. "Wait, Naruto's graduating?"

Xxx

Naruto walked out of the building dejectedly, once again unable to pass the final exam. _Dammit!_ He thought. He tried, he really did. But it was no used. He sat on the swing, away from all the others. Now he doesn't even have the guts to go back to Yusuke-nii. _What if he finds out how dumb I am and decide to not take care of me anymore?_

The thought of that was more painful than any other times he failed his final exam. He clenched onto the swing rope even tighter. Then, a very familiar shadow fell upon him. He was up before he knew it, rubbing the tears away as he turned to leave. He doesn't want to see Yusuke-nii's disappointed face.

"Naruto!" a sharp voice reached him. "I don't recall teaching you to become a coward during these two mouths."

What give! He was all depressed and the only thing his guardian does was yell at him? He turned around without another thought, not even consider pulling up his smiling mask. He never could, not around Yusuke-nii.

"Shut up," Naruto cried out, tears streaming down his face. "You don't know anything! I tried so hard, but I just don't get it! I-"

Naruto's whole body froze, tears, voice, just everything. Yusuke was embracing him, hugging him tight, so hard that he finds it hard to breathe (_or is it for another reason?)_.

"Come on," he hears his nii-chan. "Cry, don't hold back. Yusuke-nii is here."

The taunt leash he has on his pain snapped and he bawled like he never had before. He cried and cried, so long and hard that even after every single students who passed that year (he was once again the only one that failed) left along with their parents, he was still there with tears pouring out his eyes. And all the while his Yusuke-nii was there, a stranger until the last two month, rubbing his back and just being there for him. It felt so painful, but at the same time so nice. Is this what people call bitter-sweet?

At last his cries became hic-ups and Yusuke spoke. "Naruto, why did you turn away when you saw it was me?"

"Because (hic), I thought (hic) that you would be disappointed (hic) in me," he replied, grabbing onto Yusuke's clothes. Yusuke pulled Naruto away from him so they were face to face.

"Naruto, I _am_ disappointed in you," he said slowly, eyes scanning Naruto's face. The blue-eyed child recoiled as if he had been punched and looked ready to flee. "But not for the reason you believe," Yusuke hurriedly added.

"Wha?" asked Naruto, looking every bit of a child with his round blue eyes glimmering with tears.

"I'm disappointed that you didn't tell me about the final exam. I would have done something if you told me," Yusuke elaborated.

"B-But there's nothing you can do!" he exclaimed, pulling himself out of the teen's embrace. "You were so tired too… I didn't want to worry you." His eyes widen slightly as a thought came to him. "You're not going to beat the teachers up right?"

Yusuke let out a bark of laughter at the child's response. "No, Naruto. I wasn't going to threaten and beat up your teachers," he said, crossing his legs so he could sit on the floor. Glancing at his charge, he gestured for him to sit on his lap. He did. "But I would have studied everything you were learning and teach it to you myself if that was really what you wanted," he said.

Naruto turned to face him, eyes wide at Yusuke's words. "But… I thought you hate studying."

Yusuke grimaced. "Well, yeah. Can't deny that."

"So… you will do it even if you hate it?" Naruto asked, eyes burning. "For me?"

Yusuke nodded. "After all," he said, affectionately ruffling Naruto's hair. "That's what a family is for, right?"

Tears filled Naruto's eyes. "Yusuke-nii!" he cried, nearly toppled Yusuke over with his own surprise hug.

"Aw!" Yusuke bemoaned after regaining his balance. "You're not going to cry again, are you, kid?"

Naruto giggled (in a manly way, of course!) at Yusuke's words, burying his head into the teen's chest. "No," he assured him, shaking his head. The two stayed like that for a moment, etching it deep in their mind.

"Nii-chan," Naruto began, looking up at Yusuke with puppy eyes. Uh-oh. Why does he have a bad feeling about this? "Let's go get ramen."

"No way!" Yusuke shouted, quickly standing up. "You ate away almost all our money last time."

Naruto stood up. "You did too!" he yelled back, which was unfortunately true. Blame demon's high metabolism.

"Still, there's no way I'm going to buy you anymore. Not for another two weeks."

Older brother and younger stared at each other, both stubbornly refuse to back down. Finally the older one gave in, slightly.

"Come on," he coaxed. "I'll cook ramen for you if I can buy the ingredients."

Naruto jumped, staring at Yusuke. "Really?" he asked excitedly. It's been a while since Yusuke-nii cooked.

"Yeah," he replied, but Naruto was no longer listening, already taking him by the arm and dragging him down the streets.

"Come on, lazy nii-chan." Naruto said. "All stores would be close if you don't move faster."

"Hey, hey," Yusuke protested, stopping the kid. "Who said I am slow?"

"I did," Naruto replied impudently.

"All right," Yusuke said. He readied himself. "Last one to an open shop is a slowpoke." Then, he dashed.

"Huh?" Naruto asked dumbly, shocked by the turn of event. He looked at the increasing gap. "Hey, not fair Yusuke-nii!" He too began to run.

"You cheated," he shouted to his nii-chan ahead. "I demand a rematch. A rematch, you hear me!"

Yusuke laughed and inside Naruto, Kurama did too.

* * *

><p>Politics: I don't know much about them but I didn't want Yusuke to officially become a ninja since that'll mean he'll have to follow rules, which he never does, so I kinda BS his way out.<p>

The Sandaime purposely didn't tell Yusuke about Kyuubi in Naruto: Figured the law wasn't only to prevent Naruto from knowing the truth. It might also be since Kyuubi is such a potential weapon and everything, the Hokage might not want others to know who contains it so they won't kidnap him. He didn't know whether Yusuke was trustworthy at the time and therefore didn't tell him about it.


	12. Reunion

Poke. Poke.

Yusuke rolled away, annoyed.

Poke. Poke.

Let him sleep, goddamn it!

Poke. Poke.

What the fu-!

Yusuke bolt up, suddenly realizing that someone wasn't physically poking him. It was _mental_. There was only one person he knows who would… Something purple eye-shaped glowed eerily in the dark.

He snapped his head in that direction and there was Hiei, in all his stoic glory. His enhanced demon eyes quickly took in his form, checking for his well being. He was fine. _"Took you long enough,"_ the fire demon said mentally.

The half-demon stumbled up, trying to shake the remnants of sleep away as he opened the window for the Jaganshi to come in. He gracefully jumped in, landing silently against the floor. Yusuke grinned and clasped his arm.

_"Long time no see, Hiei."_

_"Hn."_

_"Did you turn even quieter during the time I was gone?"_

_"The world doesn't revolve around you, former Detective."_

_"What's with the sudden visit, anyway? I still haven't found Kurama, if you were hoping for some news."_

Hiei stared at him as if he was an idiot. _"It's amazing for you to survive this long, with your deductive skills."_

_"Hey! What is that suppose to mean?"_

_"You've already found the Fox," _the Jaganshi replied dryly.

_"WHAT!"_

Hiei hissed and his third eye glowed briefly. Yusuke gave him a sheepish smile. _"Sorry,"_ he apologized.

_"Hn. As I was saying, you've already found him. The Naruto brat-"_

_"Naruto is Kurama!" _Yusuke shouted into Hiei's head. _"But they are completely different!"_

_"DETECTIVE! Would you stop jumping into conclusions! Kurama is _sealed_ in Uzumaki. He is not the brat."_

"W-" Hiei jabbed him not too lightly in the rib. _"Ouch. Wait, so the Kyuubi I heard about was Kurama?"_

Hiei nodded.

_"And he was sealed in Naruto, of all people."_

_"Yes."_

Yusuke blew up. _"What the fuck! You just don't seal people into others without their permission!" _The fact that Naruto never mentioned it to him was enough proof that he probably didn't even know about it.

_"Pull your energies back in check, Detective!" _Hiei harshly commanded. _"You'll alert people of my presence." _Yusuke glared angrily at him, but the fire demon only stared steadily back in return. In the end, logic won out and the former human complied.

_"But… that makes no sense. Kurama only had five tails. There's no way he'll almost double the amount in the few centuries he was in Human World."_

_"How come you only use your brain when you want to argue with me?"_

_"Just answer me."_

_"If you had listened when I reported the findings on the new Human World," _Hiei said in his mind accusingly, glancing sharply at Yusuke. _"You would know that not all the power is Kurama's. He's just in control of it."_

_"Oh. I remember you saying something like that."_

_"Hn."_

_"Wait. Why didn't you tell me then?"_

_"I believed you didn't like being spoon fed."_

Yusuke grinned. _"Translate: You knew I was hoping for an adventure so you didn't say anything to make the quest harder." _The Jaganshi suddenly found his wall very interesting to look at.

_"Aw… So sweet, Hiei." _The fire demon glared at him, and Yusuke decided to retreat. He didn't have much liking to being burned alive.

_"So can you communicate with Kurama?"_

_"Yes." _Then, without needing any prompting, he slipped into Naruto's room and gestured Yusuke to follow. Taking off the cloth around his head, the Jagan eye opened. Hiei was about to bring them to Kurama when Yusuke suddenly touched his arm. _"What? I thought you wanted to talk to the Fox."_

_"It won't hurt Naruto, right?"_

Hiei snorted in his head. _"You've become soft again."_

_"I can still kick your ass. I haven't been sitting here and doing nothing, you know."_

The Jaganshi's eyes seemed to have lit up. _"Oh?"_

_"As delighted as I am to see you finally communicating, Hiei, would you please bring Yusuke in?"_

Hiei's look changed without a warning, causing Yusuke to furrow his eyebrows in confusion. _"Hiei, are you okay?"_

_"Hiei, why aren't you responding?"_

_"Hiei~ Why won't you answer? Is all the talking in mind messing with your head?"_

_"Hiei?"_

_"Hiei?"_

_"Hey man, answer-"_

_"Would you two please shut up!" _Hiei shouted through both of the links. The two quieted down, only to say at the same time _"You were talking to Yusuke/Kurama?"_

Hiei groaned in frustration and pulled both of them into the brat's head.

"Whoa," Yusuke said, glancing around Naruto's head. "Why a sewer?"

"Ask your brat," Hiei replied, crossing his arms. Yusuke opened his mouth to reply when he saw it.

"Kurama?" he asked uncertainly, going up to the menacing looking fox behind the bars. It doesn't look like Kurama…

"Yusuke?" the beast asked, its voice sounding like his friend's despite appearance. "It's been a while."

He let out a sigh of relief. "So it's really you."

At the fox's vaguely amused look, he said, "Er. No offense or anything, man, but you don't look anything like your former self."

"I don't, do I?"

"Are you two done with the sappy reuniting yet?" Hiei huffed.

"Poor Hiei is left out of our conversation," Yusuke teased.

"Yusuke, don't tease him," Kurama said, appearing like he was helping Hiei when he was all but that. "He is really shy beneath it all."

"Oh yes, can't forget that can we?" Yusuke snickered, elbowing Hiei a little.

"Detective, I'm warning you," Hiei growled. Yusuke pouted.

"Kurama, Hiei's playing favoritism." He quickly dodged a punch from the Jaganshi, who looked vaguely annoyed. Kurama couldn't help but chuckle at the familiar scene, which prompted Yusuke to laugh along and Hiei's lips to twitch. Everything would be alright, somehow. After all, Team Urameshi was back.

* * *

><p><em>"...I reported the findings on the new Human World" <em>is in chapter 1.


	13. The Jaganshi

Hiei woke up in a bed, something that hadn't happened for a _really_ long time. Body tensed and alert at the unfamiliar place, he didn't move despite not sensing anyone in the room. He knew better than to jump right up, unlike _someone_ he knew. The Jaganshi analyzed the room for a few seconds instead, looking for any traps and such, before his befuddled brain recalled that he was the Detective's house. Only then did he relax slightly.

Extending his senses out, he could tell Yusuke was in the house, although he didn't sense Kurama's energy signature. For a moment, panic welled up in his chest, even though his brain knew it was completely illogical. He didn't go through all this trouble looking for the Fox only to have him disappear on them!

Realizing he would be a victim of his own emotions if he continued along that line of thought, Hiei close his eyes instead. Taking in a deep breath, he fell back to the method Yukina taught him to calm himself before she… He abandoned the thought and exhaled deeply. Feeling much calmer and in control, he finally sat up. As soon as he done that, his hand was on the bandana-looking ward, ripping it off so he could activate the Jagan Eye. He could sense them, the brat's energy more than Kurama's since his own energy was sealed. It was there though, and that was enough.

The fire demon stood and stepped out of the room. Immediately, he was assaulted by a rich scent of… Ramen, was it? It had been centuries since he ate the ones his teammate made, since Demon World didn't have the ingredients required to make it. He had tried some in Human World after arriving, but they tasted different. While the difference wasn't exactly unpleasant, the fact that it had been there had him displeased, for one reason or another.

"Hey, Hiei," Yusuke greeted, glancing up from the stove. "Perfect timing. The ramen is almost done. Help me set up the table? The stuff are there," he said, nodding upto the cupboard above him.

Yusuke's attention then went back to the noodles, only to look up again when Hiei glared at him. The former human blinked questioningly, as though he did not know why he deserved it. When the Janganshi only intensify the glare, Yusuke quickly raked through his memory to see if anything was wrong. It was only then he realized Hiei probably couldn't reach the cupboard, it being _above_ him and everything.

"Pff." Yusuke let go of the chopsticks he was using to stir the ramen and covered his mouth, body shaking with mirth at the revelation. The other went to his stomach and he turned away from the food, not quite wanting to spit all over it.

"Not. A. Word."

Yusuke risked a glance towards him and wished he didn't. Well, not really, to be completely truthful. The thunderous look on his face… Had it been directed to anyone else, they would have been shaking in their place by now. It just happened that Yusuke knew the Jaganshi for a long time and therefore, wasn't afraid of him.

The former human simply threw the full demon his typical grin, before turning around and laugh some more. He knew it was time to stop, however, when the room temperature was getting a little too hot to be normal. He wasn't suicidal.

"Okay, okay," Yusuke swallowed his laugher. "I'll get the utensils. Just help me get the noodles in the bowls." He reached up and opened the cupboard door, easily taking out two beautiful looking bowls. A glance in the sink told Hiei another of the same design was there. "Jiji gave me a set of these as a housewarming gift," the half-demon explained.

Hiei snorted. "Should have known."

"Hey, what's that suppose to mean?" Yusuke quickly turned off the stove, unwilling to let the ramen go all soft and soggy. He then turned to the sink and rinsed the bowls before handing them to Hiei.

"There's no way you could have gotten these intricate bowls yourself." The fire demon smirked at his companion's indignant splutters and spooned servings of ramen. There were plenty leftover, even after filling the two bowls.

Walking over to the large table, where six people could be seated around it comfortably, he placed the food down. Yusuke followed closely after, handing Hiei a pair of chopstick. The two each took a seat and began eating.

"Any plans, Shorty, since you came all the way here and everything?" Yusuke asked, swallowing the ramen in his mouth. Digging his utensils into the bowl, they came out with more noodles on them.

Hiei hesitated for a split second, almost as if he wanted to say something. That disappeared before the former human could notice though. He snorted contemptuously instead. "Plans rarely work, former Detective. You should know that better than anyone else."

Yusuke hmmed thoughtfully. "True. Wanna spar then? It's been a while since my tutor," Here he grimaced at the memory of the training she made him go through. "Left for a mission a few days ago."

Hiei paused in surprise at the mention of a 'tutor,' only to shrug it off indifferently a moment later. "Hn," was the only reply, which Yusuke took as an agreement. The half-demon grinned happily at the prospect of a fight.

Content, he brought the pair of noodle covered chopstick up, only to stop centimeters away from his mouth when Hiei shoved his bowl in his face. "Seconds," he simply said.

Yusuke glanced at his half full bowl and back to Hiei's empty one. "You're kidding me," he said incredulously. He only got a bland look in return.

Xxx

"Ya know we're going to end up destroying this training ground, right?"

Hiei gave him a look of disinterest before gracefully sliding his sword out of the sheath. "They have plenty more," he simply replied. He held the sword in front of him, shifting into a fighting position.

Then, without any preamble, he disappeared. Yusuke immediately squatted down, ducking under the sword that appeared a second later. He quickly shot back up with the intention of head-butting the fire demon, only for him to vanish again using his speed. "Shit. Is it just me or did you get even faster, which _should_ be impossible by now?"

"I didn't sit in Demon World twiddling my thumb during these four mouths either, detective."

"True." Yusuke reached for the pouch he had gotten a few weeks ago and extracted a kunai with an explosive tag. He carefully imputed a small dose of chakra and the paper began to burn. Hiei glanced at it in interest. "I'm still gonna kick your ass though." And with those final words, Yusuke threw the kunai at Hiei's feet and the training ground literally exploded.

Xxx

The Hokake sighed and rubbed his forehead tiredly. "Yusuke-kun, you could have at least warned me about Hiei-kun's arrival."

Yusuke grinned sheepishly at him. "Would have told you, except he didn't even tell _me _he was coming. I met up with him last night."

"Which pose another question." The Sandaime turned to Hiei, the hint of exhaustion disappearing completely, showing no weakness. "How did you get within Konoha wall, Hiei-kun? You didn't jump over to get in. I would have sensed it if that was the case."

"Only he would jump over." Hiei said, somehow making those words sound like an insult as he tilted his head towards Yusuke to indict the 'he.' "I came through the front gate."

Hiruzen was about to question it, but recalled the reports he had on the training ground about how it was utterly destroyed. It looked like an earthquake, a tornado, and a hurricane partied in there for a few hours. Ninjas could see the raven haired teen in there, fighting what appeared to be a black blur due to the speed he was moving at. No one dared to interrupt such a fierce looking battle, so imagine their surprise when the two figures finally stopped and came out of the devastated training ground, both unscathed for the most part, if not a little dirty and sweaty. ("I told you it would be destroyed!") It was unbelievable. The sheer amount of power Konoha would gain if he…

"Before you ask, I'm not working for you. Unlike this idiot here," the Jaganshi said, ignoring Yusuke's protest of being an idiot. "I have no attachment to this place."

_Lies, _Yusuke pointed out. _What do you call Kurama?_

_He's not getting any leverage over me. _

_Fine. But I'm not an idiot!_

Hiei merely smirked.


	14. The Dragons

"Where to go next…" Yusuke wondered aloud, stepping out of the Hokage building. He was oblivious to the glances the two demons received from witnesses of the spar.

"How about getting me another sword?" Hiei suggested drily, although it sounded more like an order than anything. Yusuke smirked, glancing down at the hilt in the sheath that he knew didn't have a blade attached to it.

"I don't even know why you try anymore. Ever since I managed to compact my spirit gun so it is denser, faster, and hell stronger, I broke all your swords when we brawl. You might as well use keep the hilt and use your energy as the blade instead of replacing it every time. Sword of the Darkness Flame, right?"

Hiei snorted in reply. "It's too much like the Fool's for me to bother."

The former human's face blanked for a moment before a small nostalgic smile covered it. "Yeah, true." A strange silence descended on them, but it was quickly chased away. "Come on. I know this weapon store could probably stand my spirit guns." He changed the course of direction and Hiei matched his pace without missing a beat. "You know those little knives I threw at you? Well, I got them from The Dragons so I can mix my energy with it and it won't break. You have no idea how many times regular kunai, that's what the knives are called, broke on me."

"Hn."

Xxx

The Dragons was a small, but well known store, and was there since the founding of the village. By no means was it run down though. While the store rarely mass produces of any weapon, they always welcome those who wished to customize weapons. The more challenging the request is, the more pleased they will be, although the price will stay the same regardless. All of their weapons are high-quality, and have saved their customer's lives more than once. They are also extremely long-lasting.

Yusuke swung the door open and was greeted by a variety of weapons displayed around the room. There were also plenty of steel for the customers to choose to personalize a weapon. "Welcome," a feminine voice called out.

"Hey, Tenten." Yusuke greeted, raising a hand. "Helping your father out again?"

"Yusuke-san!" The girl sounded pleasantly surprise. "Hai. How was the kunais that Father made?"

"Great," he answered. "They didn't crack when I augmented its strength using chakra. Hiei here did melt some of them though."

The girl's eyes widen. Melt? But Yusuke-san's kunais are made of one of their strongest steel! It took quite some time for her father to make them, since that kind of steels are extremely hard to damage and shape. She shouldn't be so surprised though. He was recommended to The Dragons to customize some weapon because he had a quack for unintentionally breaking weapons, after all, so why should his companion be different.

Imagine her surprise, along with her father's, when the man entered the store and asked them to customize some kunai. Just plain, regular kunai, no change in design. Her father was reasonably insulted, asking if he was mocking them, as The Dragons are known for its originality and customization and here was a customer who asked them to make him a set of regular kunai that could be bought anywhere. It was as if he was saying their store is simply like any other store and their weapons are nothing special.

Tenten was ready to summon her weapons and drive him out when he explained he had terrible chakra control. He often end up breaking regular kunai simply by channeling chakra through it, so he wanted stronger ones that could withstand it. After all, when you are in a life or death situation, it would be a bother to infuse chakra in your weapon to strengthen it, only for it to break. Especially since Yusuke never watch his use of chakra, and certainly not during an entertaining battle.

Her father told him to prove it, so he did, taking out a kunai out of his holster and randomly channeling chakra through it. The poor kunai immediately broke into pieces, falling apart under the pressure of the chakra the man casually emitted. A quick check of the kunai told the father and daughter it wasn't because of the quality of the kunai either. While it wasn't terribly great, having to have been mass produced, the kunai should have held together. The only reason why it would have broke…They had no choice but to believe him.

After that, her father became embarrassingly obsessed, handing him steel after steel for him to input his regular dose of chakra to see just how powerful it is. On the scale of one to seven, seven being the toughest and hardest steel, one being the weakest (the regular kunai that he broke was 2.5), Yusuke-san's regular amount of chakra managed to break a level five steel.

Her father was delighted at the challenge and immediately began working on it, only pausing long enough to ask Yusuke-san if he wanted anything else beside regular looking kunai. His reply was surprising no, stating that he rarely use weapons. He just happened to acquire a liking to explosive tag and kunais. He wouldn't use any other weapon, however.

"You broke something of mine too, detective. Consider us as even."

"Yeah, but this is coming out of _my _pocket." Yusuke huffed, and turned back to Tenten. "Shorty is a swordsman and I accidently broke his sword. Umm… any recommendation?"

Tenten blinked in surprise. "Well, there are a few swords here," she began, pointing towards the one hung in the back of the room and another in the display case. "But this is a shinobi village, so we rarely sell swords here. I would recommend customizing one."

"Thought so." Yusuke turned, but the swordsman in question was no longer by his side. "Hiei?" he asked, walking towards the other demon when he spotted him. He was standing in front of a katana with strange markings.

"How much is this?" he said, hands reaching to take out the sword. It was disgraceful for such a sword, a weapon made to kill, to be used only as an ornament.

Tenten curiously peeked from behind Yusuke-san to see what his friend wanted and gasped. "Please don't take Sandai Kitetsu out." She hurriedly placed herself between the demon and the case. "You don't want it. It's-"

"Cursed," Hiei finished.

"If you know then why-"

The shorter demon cut her off once again. "A little curse won't affect me, girl."

"That's true, Tenten." Yusuke spoke up. "He's impossible to kill even if you want to."

Tenten shook her head. "Twelve swordsmen said the same and they're now all dead. Besides, my grandfather forged it, so I simply can't sell it to you without his permission. Perhaps you would like another sword," she suggested. "We can even customize it-"

"It's calling to me," Hiei stated. "The cursed sword and the Forbidden Child. Fitting, isn't it?"

The only female stared questioningly at him, but Yusuke nodded thoughtfully. "I bet the sword is pretty sturdy too, right?"

She hesitantly answered. "…Hai. It is made of one of the hardest steels in the world. But-"

"Good," Hiei said. "I'll take it."

Not unexpected fury burst forth from within her (_She absolutely sick of people interrupting her!)_ and she exploded. "Did you not listen to what I say?" Tenten shouted. "I said it's not for sale!"

"And I said I want the sword," Hiei said, his voice threatening. She swallowed deeply, the previous ire all but disappeared, leaving her feeling uncomfortably vulnerable. She involuntarily took a step back, legs shaking ever slightly.

Yusuke took a quick glance at the pale look on her face and stepped in, placed a hand on his companion's shoulder. "C'mon, Hiei. Let's go," he coaxed, trying to get Hiei out. He scared the poor girl enough. Now if only the fire demon would budge... He sighed. "We can come back for your sword later."

Yusuke could feel it, the Jagan Eyes slowly slipping into his head. It was deliberately slow, giving him the choice of strengthening his mind barrier to prevent the entrance if he chose to, which was his first intention. It was instinct to shut out anything that was out of norm and potentially harmful to him, after all. If he did that, however, Hiei would believe he was lying and the consequences would be unpleasant. So instead, the former human let it down, trusting him to not mess with his head. It only took a touch for the Eye to know he was telling the truth, as he had thought of them just moments before. Job done and satisfied, the Eye's presence disappeared with a "hn" on its owner's part.

Yusuke-san's companion finally turned away, seemingly to have gone through some sort of conversation. A sense of relief overcame her as the feeling disappeared and she could breath properly again. _Kiiling intent, _she realized after her head was cleared of the fear. Just what is a man like Yusuke-san doing with such a dangerous person?

Hiei gracefully walked out, shoes stepping lightly against the ground as he made his exit. His shoulder was proud and confident, as if he owned the very place he was walking across, including the sword he set his eyes upon. While that wasn't true, Yusuke knew the Jaganshi could certainly make it happen. He had robbed Spirit World's artifact vault, after all.

Yusuke let out a sigh at the disaster that had been averted and addressed to the only human in the room. "Sorry about that, Tenten. Hope he didn't scare you that badly."

"I-" Tenten stopped at her weak voice and cleared her throat. She straightened up, forcing her legs to stop shaking. "I'm fine, Yusuke-san."

He smiled. "You're strong, Tenten." The smile soon slipped off, however, at the thought of his current problem. "Look, can you ask your grandfather if he would sell the sword?" He held up a hand before she could protest. "It won't hurt to ask. Besides, it sounds like you guys don't like the sword all that much. Just that you don't want another person to die because of the curse. If Hiei proves that he can handle the curse, then we can get the sword off your hand. Not bad, right?" Tenten didn't answer. "For now, just ask, okay? I'll come back in two days." With that, he too left.

* * *

><p>Ding, ding, ding. Give One of Inspiration a prize. Chap 13 and 14 were intended to be one chapter, but it was longer than I thought after finishing it, so it split it up to two. You have no idea how long it took me to think of a name for the last chapter due to that. This chapter's name came easy enough, though.<p>

School work is interfering and I'm sorry to say I need to take some time off. I'll be back as soon as possible. Once again, I cannot express how happy am I to see people still reading this. Millions of thanks to those who faved, alerted or reviewed and special thanks to those who did all three.

Note:

"He often end up breaking regular kunai simply by channeling chakra through it." Yusuke mostly channel his energy for fighting and that is etched into his very being. It shows through muscle memory. When he use energy/chakra, his body automatically changed it so it would be destructive, which was unfortunate for all those poor kunai.


	15. Just Another Day

"Damn it Hiei, you like putting me in tight spots, don't you."

"Hn."

"Don't hn me, you bastard. That's the only store that sells the kunai I use."

"Since when did you use weapons," he replied. "I thought you prefer using your fist."

"Well yeah, but it doesn't count. It's like you using your sword on weaker opponent, and your flames on stronger ones." Hiei stopped in his step and stared at him. "What? Don't look at me like that. We fought side by side for centuries. You think I didn't notice?"

The smirk dancing on the Jaganshi's face said it all.

"You're a bastard, you know."

"And you're still the same detective."

Xxx

"Nii-san!" Naruto shouted, hugging the first person who entered the room. Hiei's eyebrow twitched at the appendages around his waist.

_"Fox, tell the kid to remove his arms before I permanently remove it for him."_

The Fox was too busy trying to hold his laughter back to answer.

Yusuke let out a dramatic ouch, catching Naruto's attention with the familiar voice that certainly didn't come from the person he was hugging. "Damn that hurts. Now I know how it feels like to be betrayed."

The brat jumped backwards with surprise splayed across his face. "Wha-?" He came face to face with a murderous looking person and in a typical Naruto fashion, he ignored it. "Who are you?" he demanded obnoxiously loud, a finger pointing at the Jaganshi.

"Get your finger out of my face, brat," Hiei growled in reply.

"Okay okay, introductions before damage control," Yusuke declared, drowning out Naruto's response. "Shorty, meet the Brat aka Naruto. Brat, meet Shorty aka Hiei. Got it?" He asked, glancing at Naruto's incredulous face and Hiei's annoyed one. "Okay," he said cheerfully, clasping his hands together. "Any questions?"

There was a familiar pregnant pause.

Something growled. Naruto raised his hand sheepishly to his head. "I'm hungry, nii-chan."

Xxx

"Heh. So you are nii-chan's friend from this other place."

"Hn."

"Is that place nice? I've never been outside Konoha before."

"It's fine."

"Is that a sword?" Naruto asked, attention turning to something much more interesting.

"It was."

"Was?"

"You're _precious _nii-san broke it," Hiei replied, glancing down briefly at the hilt that he knew no longer have a blade to it. "He's going to get me a replacement."

"Really? Can I go? I want to go!"

"Go where?" Yusuke asked, placing down a big bowl of ramen in front of each person, along with a pair of chopsticks.

"Can I go with you to buy the sword? Please!"

"I thought you have class," the former human replied in amusement.

He still remembered how Naruto managed to diligently attending to classes without skipping at all at the beginning of the semester. It was probably an attempt to assure his graduation this time around and to make Yusuke proud. He only managed for a month before starting up his habit again. Naruto was strangely nervous when Yusuke found out, mostly from the Naruto-like prank that occurred while he was suppose to be in class. Yusuke made sure to tell him he didn't mind though and Naruto relaxed. From then, he went back to his old ways, happily skipped class whenever he wanted, glad it wasn't going to make his nii-chan disappointed. He still attended to more class than before, however, driven by the desire to become a Hokage and to prove himself to his nii-chan, who was undoubtedly strong.

Naruto grinned positively. "One day wouldn't hurt, nii-chan."

Yusuke returned the grin, coupled with a laugh. "Fine, you little brat."

Xxx

"Naruto," Yusuke called out, opening the shades so the sunlight would shine across the bed. "Wake up!"

The child responded by pulling up his blanket. "Five more minutes…"

"C'mon. Hiei's gonna leave you behind if you don't get up." The kid still didn't move. "I'll even buy you dango," he bribed.

Naruto pulled the blanket down and look at his nii-chan. "Why not ramen?"

"Oh, so now you're awake, piggy."

Naruto pouted at him. "Ramen?" he asked hopefully.

_"Yusuke…" _Kurama said warningly before the (kinda) former ramen chief could agree.

_"Damn."_

_"You should know better," _came the voice full of exasperation._ "Ramen are not healthy and certainly shouldn't be consumed every day."_

Yusuke rolled his eyes at the mini lecture. _"Yes, mom."_

Aloud, he said, "No go, kiddo. They're not healthy enough, apparently." The child's face fell.

"C'mon, change."

Naruto turned his back on him with a hmph, causing Yusuke to growl. "You little brat…" But before a mock battle could commence, Hiei appeared at the doorway, black fire casually dancing on his palm.

"Get up, kid, before I turn you and your pathetic excuse of a bed to ash." Let this be a little reminder that Hiei was not known for his patience.

Naruto let out an eep upon seeing the threat was by no means empty and went into a flurry of actions. Within ten minutes, he was ready to go.

Xxx

"Detective," the fire demon said plainly, arms crossed across his chest. He glared at the former human impatiently. Why in the three worlds is he surrounded by imbeciles?

"Just wait a second. I promised," Yusuke said, nodding towards the presently meek child beside him. The kid perked up at those words. The Detective chuckled at the reaction, give those blond hair a ruffle before ducking into the dango store. The other demon immediately heard cheerful greetings, proving his suspicion that the former detective knew the owner. "Hey, give me-"

"The usual, right?" a voice drifted outside. An extremely familiar laugh followed, along with a "Yeah." The two talked a little more about subjects of little consequences before the other raven haired male came back out.

"Hey, just wait a bit. I know the owner so the dangos should be done soon enough. Kinda crowded in there though."

Naruto gave a little cheer, but immediately quiet down when Hiei gave him a dark look. Yusuke sniffled a chuckle at the little interaction, causing the Jaganshi to turn his attention back to him.

"Detective, what makes you think I would want to eat human deserts? Sweets, moreover."

"Well, I actually don't know much deserts that are not sweet."

Hiei growled. "Detective-"

"Yeah, yeah. I know. Know you don't mean that, but seriously." Yusuke reached over and punched Hiei's shoulder lightly. "Relax, would ya?"

The Jaganshi still glowered, but it was no longer as intense. "Why would you come to this shop anyway?" he demanded, nodding towards the interior of the shop which was thronged with people. He still hates crowd after all these years. "We just passed by one a few minutes ago."

Yusuke shrugged easily, not one bit affected by the other's mood. "Got used to this dango shop. Anko always drag me here. Besides," he grinned. "They make the best dango in Konoha. You guys will love 'em."

Hiei snorted in disbelief at the statement, which Yusuke confidently replied with a "You'll see."

"Hey, kid," a voice shouted out. Yusuke looked up. "Your dango's done."

"Thanks old man," he replied, entering the shop again. There was a few rustling before the former human reemerged with a brown bag in hand. Yusuke waved it in the air and Hiei snorted again. The human child ran up to the Detective, jumping up and down excitedly as he reached for the bag.

Yusuke gave up the bag without a fight, only pausing long enough to pull out two sticks of dango. He dangled one in front of his face as he stuffed the other in his mouth, giving Hiei an expectant look. The Jaganshi rolled his eyes, even as he reached up and took it.

* * *

><p>Not my best chapter. I know. Please consider this as a transition and something to inform you guys that I'm still alive. Next chapter would be better, I promise.<p>

And the sword? Yes, it is an One Piece reference. I sneak them in whenever I could, although apparently it wasn't too sneaky since some people still noticed. Congratulation, Unfortunateidiot and SeanHicks4 .


	16. Sandai Kitetsu

They have finally arrived at The Dragons, only to be greeted with a plate on the door, the words "Close" engraved upon it.

Hiei's eyes darken at the sight and there was a tick on his forehead. Had his sword still been intact, he would have been sliding it out of its sheath by now. As it was, pure dark flame, not unlike the murderous aura he was then emitting, magically appeared in his hand instead. Yusuke honestly couldn't tell which was worst.

"Dude, dude," he called out, reaching out. "Calm down for a sec. I thought I'm supposed to be the impulsive one here."

His hand was centimeters away from the Jaganshi when a ball of black fire flew by. Instinctively reacting, he quickly pulled his hand back, mentally sending a thank to Anko for all the insane training. It kept his instinct as sharp as ever.

The moment Yusuke pulled back was all someone of Hiei's caliber needed to cross the distance between himself and The Dragons and kick the door open, with such a force the former human was surprised to see it was still intact at the hinges. Behind him, Naruto gasped in awe.

Almost immediately after the door was opened, weapons came flying out at an incredible speed. What was even more amazing, however, was that Hiei managed to avoid **all **of them without acquiring so much of a scratch. By the time the assault (which was actually pretty short) stopped, Yusuke already had a spirit gun charged at his index finger, ready to fire at a moment of notice while the fire in Hiei's hand was condensed so it wasn't just for show.

When absolutely nothing appeared after that, all of them exchanged glances. Hiei was the first to move, taking one step after another into the shop. Yusuke instantly followed, but once Hiei went through, the door slammed close. Before he could do anything drastic, a familiar voice called out.

"Yusuke-san!" Tenten came out from behind the shop.

"Tenten?" Yusuke asked, hurrying over to the girl with Naruto following closely. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be inside?"

The girl shook her head. "My grandfather wanted to test Hiei-san to see if he is worthy of the sword. He should come out soon enough."

"Ah, I see. How long is it going to take? I don't want to wait forever for him."

The girl bit her lips. "I'm not sure… Grandfather is old fashion and has a way of testing people."

"Great."

Before Tenten could reply to that, Naruto spoke up. "Neh, neh. Who are you?"

The genin looked down and was surprise to see the child. He looks familiar…

"Oh yeah. Forgot about this. Here, let me introduce you guys," Yusuke said. "This girl is Tenten. She's the daughter of the shop," he nodded towards The Dragons. "And this is Naruto, the future Hokage." He winked at the blond-haired boy.

Tenten took that as her cue and offered her hand. "Hello, Naruto-kun. I'm Tenten."

Naruto stood there blankly, surprised by the girl's cordial attitude. Seeing the child wasn't going to snap out of it any time sooner, Yusuke gave him a gentle nudge. "Come on, Naruto. Don't keep a girl waiting."

Both children blushed at the comment before Naruto hurriedly wiped his hand against his orange jumpsuit and shook the hand. "I'm the future Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto. Believe it!"

Tenten gave him a small smile in return. "Nice to meet you, Hokage-sama," she teased. Yusuke laughed as Naruto's face flushed.

Xxx

"Who are you?" Hiei demanded, the black fire in his hand intensifying.

"No mercy even to an old man like me?" the elderly in front of him asked. He shook his head. "Kids these days. Good thing my Tenten is not like that."

"I'm going to ask again, old man. _Who are you?_"

"Hardly the way to talk to the creator of the sword you wants, don't you think?"

"I take what I want. What makes you think courtesy is going to change that?"

"Well, the people might give up their thing more willingly."

"They _will_ part with their belonging regardless if that is what I wish."

"Then you're only a thief."

"That would imply I sneak, old man. No, I'm not a thief." Hiei's lips curled with his next words. "More like a bandit."

"Ah, no stealth for you, huh, even if you certainly are capable of it. No, you'll boldly and openly take what you want." The man rubbed his chin as Hiei stared steadily at him, his eyes holding all the pressure in the world. "Alright, you pass."

The Jaganshi blinked, obviously expecting to have to take what he wanted by force. The elderly chuckled. "You didn't expect that, did you, boy? But what did you think a sword is for. It's for killing, despite all samurais could say about noble intents. Does it mean people can use swords to kill needlessly? No, of course! You still need honor, but not to the extent of samurai's ridiculous codes. Especially not for this particular sword you wish to obtain."

"You're saying you'll give me the sword."

"Not yet," he answered, ignoring the low warning growl. He stood somewhat unsteadily, before regaining his equilibrium. Walking towards the back, he stopped where a dozen of swords (as Hiei was positive they are) were place, covered each with a white cloth. "Chose one," he said, gesturing to all the concealed swords. "I'll let you buy the sword you have chosen. All of them are forged by me during my prime and are certainly worth your money."

"What's the meaning of this?" Hiei growled angrily, his patient running impossibly thin.

"I'm asking you to pick out Sandai Kitetsu among all of these, Hiei-kun. If you can, I'll consider you as worthy and you can even get it free of charge. If not," his eyes grew dark. "I ask you to pay for your chosen sword, with the addition of 3,000,000 ryo for wasting my time, and leave The Dragons. Never take a step back in here and ask for Sandai Kitetsu."

"Are you done talking yet, geezer, because I'm going to give you four words." Hiei leaned forward, a dangerous aura emitting from his body. "Where. Is. Sandai. Kitetsu?"

A flash of surprise passed through the man's face before he managed to cover it. "Wha-?"

"Don't you dare take me for a fool," Hiei hissed. "Sandai Kitetsu is not among them."

Tenten's grandfather blinked, taking some time to comprehend. The young man before him actually…? A smile spread across his face. "And here I thought you were just some young fool, thinking of obtaining a cursed sword to brag about it. Alright, I give. It is not among these." He walked further into the shop and noises followed. Soon he emerged with a katana in hand, which is surrounded by a strong aura.

Hiei's eyes followed the sword, not exactly mesmerized. He could certainly take his eyes off of the sword if he wished, yet he didn't, allowing his eyes to scan the genuine article as the human carefully took it out of its sheath. The Jaganshi's hands reached out to touch it, eyes never leaving the sword, only to growl when it was pulled away.

"Final test, young man." The elderly slowly and casually raise the sword to Hiei's throat, clearly had experience with the katana before. The demon, in response, pitched the blade between his thumb and other fingers before it reach its target, and pushed it back.

"Be quick, _old man._ I don't have time for your foolish games," he groused out. There was this urge of simply taking the sword and be done with it. Yusuke and Kurama wouldn't be amused if he did though, so he endured, if only a little longer. _I'll just take it if he doesn't oblige. _His hand remained around the katana.

"Extend you arm out, boy. This test is not mine. I already gave you my version. This is to see if the sword itself thinks you are worthy to be its owner."

"What nonsense are you spouting? Have you gone senile? You talk as though the sword is alive."

"There's no need to deny it, Hiei. You clearly felt it yourself. Hadn't you said you felt as though the sword was calling out to you?"

"That girl has a big mouth."

"Now, don't you threaten my granddaughter. The truth is simply the truth and that is the sword was calling you out to temp you. To temp any swordsmen that are worth their salt. Sandai Kitetsu wish to be free again, only that it is a picky little thing. Been like that since it had been a newborn. I had to seal it away after it drove its owners insane with its bloodlust. I'm old Hiei-kun. Show me that you can handle it, and I will gladly give you the sword."

"It appears big mouth runs in the family." He extended an arm out. "You all talk too much."

The blacksmith gave him a little amused shake of head before sobering up again. "Now, Hiei-kun. I hope you realize what I'm about to do. There is a chance that you'll lose your-"

"Arm and you will not responsible for it." Hiei gave him a bored look, as if he was not about to risk losing his arm for the rest of his extremely long life. "Get on it with, geezer."

The man took a glance at him before handing him the sword. "It's your fate," he simply said.

Hiei held the sword in the light for a moment, watching the way light reflect off of it. The old man almost thought he had lost his nerves when he, without any warning, threw Sandai Kitetsu in the air. The katana spun upwards, staying suspended in the air for a second, before dropping down.

* * *

><p>The test at the end is from <em>One Piece<em>.


	17. Said and Done

The first thing he was greeted with when he came out was laughter. Loud, merry laughter. Yusuke was the first to notice him, as he was accustomed to his energy.

"Hey, Hiei," the half-demon shouted, obnoxiously waving his hand in the air. His face was adorned with a smile. The other two human looked up and the girl's smile faltered before quickly pulling it back up.

Hiei ignored it, as it had nothing to do with him. Why should he care? Yusuke immediately swung a hand over his shoulder when he reached him, slouching so they would be the same height. He gave the sword at Hiei's side a quick glance and his smile became impossibly wide. "So you got the sword."

"Hn."

"Took you long enough, Shorty."

"I would like to see _you _try, Detective."

"Nah, I'll pass. Have no used for a sword anyway."

The boy came bouncing up to them. "You got it? You got it?" Without waiting for an answer, he made a move towards the sword. Hiei narrowed his eyes at him in warning, causing the child, now over his fear of the black fire as it is not in sight, to pout. "Not fair!" he complained. "You were about to show Yusuke-nii, weren't you?"

"I was not."

"Was too!"

Yusuke ignored the childish bicker going on and turned his attention to Tenten, who hesitantly walked up to them, no longer as carefree as she was before. Yusuke frowned before recalling Hiei and Tenten did not meet under the best circumstance, since he wanted to get the sword and threatened her (just a little) for it. The former human didn't think much of it because, honestly, he was pretty much used to threats by now and few could harm him now days. Tenten, however, she was different. At a young age and despite recently (around two mouth, doing mostly D-rank missions) promoted to genin, she still lived a sheltered life. She had probably not come in contact with much danger, much less than felt that level of killer intent. Now to meet up again with the source of her fear so soon after two mere days, she probably feels incredibly uncomfortable.

"Grandfather gave him the sword." Tenten heard her voice and couldn't discern the emotions within it. They are all… jumbled up. There was shock, as it took him so little time as oppose to the selected few that managed to obtain the sword. A little anger too, because she had been treated poorly and wanted a little revenge. What was more surprising, however, was that she also felt a glimmer of respect. It only continued to grow when Hiei-san proposed to test out the katana and Yusuke-san readily accepted.

At first, she thought Yusuke-san was at a disadvantage, since he was only going to use his fist and nothing else, meaning Hiei-san would have the upper hand with attacking from a distance and be far enough so Yusuke-san's attacks won't reach him. When she voiced her thoughts, however, she was rudely proven wrong with a snort.

"If anything, it is I who is at a disadvantage." Hiei spoke, gracefully sliding the sword out. The katana gleamed in the light, its violet markings standing out. "The Detective had always fought with his fists, so it could hardly be considered as a handicap. Not using his spirit guns would be one, except he doesn't have a heavy dependence on it, using it mostly to attack at a distance. There is no need for him to use it with me, as we both charge head on into our battles."

"On the other hand," Yusuke picked off. "Hiei here has to get used to the sword. It'll distract him a little, although probably not enough to slow him down significantly." He paused at a sudden thought. "Is there actually a curse on that thing?" he questioned, turning around to address to his fellow demon.

"Yes," Hiei answered, holding the sword up. "I could sense it."

There was a pregnant pause at the blunt, but expected response before Yusuke broke it off. "Hiei-kun," Yusuke began, lips twitching. "You're not going to go crazy on us, are you?"

Hiei simply gave them a feral grin in return. Tenten hoped the pointed teeth were simply her own imagination.

Nevertheless, the battle commenced and left her with a great deal of respect for both fighter afterwards. She stood there, shocked, for a few moments after the battle was concluded (she couldn't tell who won, as they stopped for apparently no reason in her eyes, on some silent signal), until Yusuke-san shook her a little in concern.

She could hardly believe he was the same person as the fighter before. It wasn't as though he was frightening when he fought, quite the opposite in fact, as he treated the spar as a game, grinning with laughter in his eyes as he occasionally good-naturedly goad Hiei-san on. No, there was simply just this aura around him. She didn't notice it before, but Yusuke-san was a lot more formidable than she thought. This was extremely noticeable when he readied himself for a fight, atmosphere around him shifting so it gave him this air of being unapproachable despite his friendly smile. There was simply this instinct that warns her off of going near him when he was in that… let's say playful mood, for the lack of better words.

Hiei-san, on the other hand, seemed to be the opposite. He was normally frightening, oozing with danger and a sense of aloofness. Yet when he spared, he seemed to be himself the most, and all his emotional guards simply dropped, as that was his element and nothing could stop him. Watching Hiei-san spar told her a lot more about him than all the other times that she had interacted with him combined.

"So cool!" Naruto shouted as the fighters stepped out of the wrecked training ground.

"Well," Yusuke-san laughed, fondly patting Naruto's head. "That's what we do the best."

Her eyes went to Hiei-san to see his reaction to those words and they unwittingly met his. For a moment, she thought she was going to flinch away, but caught herself before she did that. She's a kunoichi now, heaven's sake. How could she become as strong as Tsunade-sama if she can't even face someone without flinching? So instead of curling up like she really felt like doing, Tenten stood up straighter and squared her shoulders, looking right into Hiei-san's eyes instead of at them.

He did absolutely nothing, but stared back. No, correction. He somehow managed to stare _down _at her, even though they were pretty much the same height. Beads of sweat formed as the moment stretched on and he only stared. Tenten tried to swallow, but her throat was parched. Her vision blurred and something akin to panic welled up in her chest. At last, something shifted in his eyes and with a 'hn,' he broke off the impromptu staring contest.

Tenten almost collapse onto the ground as the heavy feeling lifted, but instead, took in a desperately needed breath that she didn't realize she deprived herself of. Raising her head, she saw Hiei-san heading towards Yusuke-san, who was at a distance. His eyes flickered from Hiei-san to herself before back to the man again, almost curiously. Then, slowly, a brilliant smile spread across his face as he glanced back in her direction. Tenten figured it was a good thing.


	18. Of madness and chaos

Warnings: Jumpy scenes, may be confusing, cliché-ness, hard to read bunched up words near the middle (for the messed up mood) with equally messed up gender pronouns, attempt at plot, slight nudity and somber situation.

* * *

><p>"Don't let Naruto go outside for the next few days?" Yusuke reiterated in confusion. He was pretty sure the old man knows that Naruto was so hyperactive that he could hardly stay in the same spot for more than ten minutes. Telling him he was going to be house arrested for a few days because of absolutely nothing wasn't just going to sit well with him.<p>

The Hokage rubbed the bridge of his nose, feeling beyond his age at the moment. Should he tell Yusuke or not? On one hand, he deserves the truth, as he had truly taken care of Naruto better than anyone else, himself included. But on the other, just because he knew Yusuke-kun was trustworthy doesn't mean others (such as the council) would share the same view. Ibiki wasn't done observing Yusuek-kun yet, so he couldn't use the man's 'expert opinion' to support his decision either.

"Yes," the Hokage simply answered. When Yusuke continued to stare at him expectantly, as though he wanted an explanation, he let out a sigh. "Yusuke, _please_. Not now." He allowed his fatigue to show as he met the teen's eyes, knowing it would soften Yusuke.

The teenager, in return, frowned at him almost disapprovingly at the move. "You don't play fair, do you old man?" Without waiting for a reply, he headed for the door. "I'll do it, but you fucking owe me, Jiji."

Xxx

"HUH?"

Yusuke winced at the loud exclamation. "Lower your voice, Naruto. Hiei's gonna kill you if you don't."

Naruto turned towards the former motionless figure on the sofa, legs crossed to mediate. Beside him was a katana and above... His eyes trailed upwards to the man's head, where a vein twitching irritably could be seen. Oops.

Naruto's hand reached up to his head and a nervous laugh awkwardly came out of his throat. He inched away from him not so surreptitiously. "Yusuke-nii, you were saying…?"

"Stay home for the next few days."

"But-!"

"You get to skip scho-"

"Alright," came the quick reply.

Xxx

"Sorry, nii-san," Naruto muttered as he snuck out of the house. "But I really don't want to be in the house any longer." He peek his head out and gave a quick glance in both directions. When he didn't see his nii-san (he has little time to mind Naruto after Anko came back), he let out a little cheer of victory before quickly acting normal as to not attract any attention.

He got them anyway.

Xxx

"Jiji?" Yusuke asked, jumping off the tree that he was resting in. The work let up a little now, since Anko didn't have much to teach him anymore beside their little tricks or jutsu, as they called it. They looked cool and everything, but the demon simply didn't have the patience or memory to memorize the hand signs for 'em. Besides, he had always preferred to fight with his fists. The only thing he really wanted to learn was that Kage something jutsu and the one where they changed his appearance. Henge. The mischievous part of him really wanted to try tricking his fellow demons with that.

"…training is coming along nicely."

"Huh?" Yusuke asked, blinking back to the present. Anko looked as though she was about to sock him in the face but the Hokage took no offence.

"It seems like you are finally ready to take missions."

"I can?" Yusuke queried, excitement flooding into his voice. He was tired of being stuck in the village.

Hiruzen nodded. "Soon. I'll inform you when you can."

"Good." Yusuke cracked his knuckles loudly. "I'm ready to kick some asses."

Anko wacked his head. "Don't get over-confident brat."

"Well, I have a valid reas-"

The Hokage coughed lightly, interrupting what would soon be another spar. "Yusuke-kun, I wouldn't be able to visit Naruto this weekend so please give this to him in my stead." He handed him a wrapped box.

Yusuke stared at him quizzed look. "Why are you giving him a gift?" he asked as he took it.

The Sandaime blinked. "It appears that I've forgotten to tell you."

"Tell me what?"

"It's going to be Naruto's birthday this Saturday."

"What?"

Xxx

Naruto ran, breath puffing thinly in the October air. Behind him, a mob followed. Damn it. How could he be such an idiot to forget? The people were all putting up decorations for the festival on October 10th, two days from now. It is also the day of his birthday.

One time, he had asked jii-san why people were angry at him. He told him it was because Kyuubi attacked the village during that day and he was unfortunately born at the same time. People were hurt, his jii-chan told him, and they wanted someone to blame. It wasn't your fault.

When he was younger, he wanted that to change. Now he doesn't even bother to hope for anything different. Every year, he would just hide in that crap apartment of his and wait for the day to pass. If he was lucky, Jii-chan would even visit him. Then Yusuke-nii came and changed everything. He let him forget.

_Yusuke-nii! _He thought desperately, risking a glance back. They were gaining on him, little by little. His short legs were simply no match for their fully grown ones. Damn it!

Naruto darted into an alley and continued to run, his mind racing even faster than his feet to try to find a solution. _What should I do?_ _They're so persistent! _Normally, had he simply played a prank, they would have gave up already. It seems like this week was an exception to everything. Naruto was scared to find out what would happen if he had gone out on October 10th.

He was running out of breath. He was scared. He was goddamn scared. He would have risked going out onto the road, except the people there would probably jump him before he could reach anywhere safe.

Safe. Just where is safe? The Hokage tower? Home? The academ-?

An idea popped into his mind.

Xxx

_"Hiei!. Yusuke!"_

Xxx

Yusuke physically jolted at the desperateness of the mental voice, elbow banging hard against The Dragon's door.

"Yusuke-san, are you alright…?" But he didn't hear her.

_"Kurama?" _Just what the hell happened? He sounded frantic and absolutely _afraid._ And he was never afraid.

_"Naruto's in trouble."_

Xxx

Everyone was screaming and running around, men and women alike. The only difference was that all the women were naked. In the corner of the women section of the bath house sat a blonde girl that any men would have drooled over. She huddled in the corner, arms wrapped around her nude self with her head resting on her knees.

"Pathetic."

The young girl looked up.

Xxx

Yusuke run like he had never before, panic racing through his veins. Fuck! If he lose him, if he lost them-

He skidded to a stop at the bath house, and bulled right in._ "Where are you?" _he asked, spinning around and around, trying to spot the dead giveaway of blond hair. _"Where you are, Kurama?"_

Tips of his finger grazed strands of yellow. He made a grab for it.

Xxx

"Who the hell-?" "Nii-san?"

The two parties stared at each other, oblivious to the chaos all around them.

"Naruto," he breathed out. The blonde nodded. "How-?" _Henge._

Thinking his nii-san was asking how he ended up at the bath house, Naruto told him. About how he was bored so he left the house. About how he got chased once he was spotted. About how he ran, ran and ran, but seemed to never be able to outrun them. About how he thought about henge when the academy came to his mind. "It's really funny. I mean, I never paid any attention in class but this is what saved me. But it would be useless if they saw me transform, right? So I looked for this place with a lot of people. But then they caught up. One of them almost caught me." His clenched a fistful of his nii-san's shirt. Idly, he remembered it was one of nii-san's favorite. "I kicked 'em and then randomly ran. Ran right into a stall. It was so dumb. People noticed me and more followed. Then I passed by here. Remembered these things that would start flying out if someone stand there too long or make too much noise. I ran in and then the mob paused outside." His voice cracked. "I was so happy. I thought they would stop following. But then this one guy just rushed right in and the rest just followed. I-I didn't know what to do. I ran into this section. Was small enough no one noticed. Knew they would notice soon if I don't look like them. So I looked around and did a henge. Did you know the first time I did it in school, it looked like that instructor got beaten up? I knew it was bad. I was rushing. Would have did it again, 'cept there was no time. They came in. Then, there were lots of screaming and running and things went flying. I hid in this corner so they wouldn't notice it. They looked really funny from this angle. Nothing like those scary men. Nothing like them with those scary faces and raised fists an-"

"Enough, Naruto," Yusuke said firmly, burying the child's face into his chest. "You don't have to say anymore."

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Naruto knew he was blabbing. He couldn't stop. "I shoulda listened to you. I shoulda-"

"Shoulda nothing. It wasn't your fau-."

"No!" Naruto wretched herself away from Yusuke. He forced himself to look at Naruto's face and not the bouncing part of her body. "If I'd listen, none of this will happen. I-"

Hiei's hand left her neck before she even slumped down. That same hand connected to the same arm wrapped around her waist so she wouldn't slam to the ground.

"He's not thinking clearly right now." He held her out. "Bring him back."

Yusuke was already shrugging off his shirt. He wrapped it around the child. "Thank you, Hiei"

He turned away. "I didn't do anything, Detective."

"You protected her until I came. That was plenty enough."

Xxx

"Nii-san?" Yusuke looked up, worry etched on his very face. The lines eased slightly when he saw she was awake.

"Hey."

Both of them stared at each other, unable to find words. Everything was in pieces. Just where could they start?

"I-"

Yusuke placed a finger on her lips. The temporarily girl glanced at him questioningly. "Mind changing back to a guy first?" he asked, a small teasing smile graced upon his face.

Naruto looked down at herself, and 'poof,' leaving behind a very male and blushing Naruto.

Xxx

_Everyone was screaming and running around, men and women alike. The only difference was that all the women were naked. In the corner of the women section of the bath house sat a blonde girl that any men would have drooled over. She huddled in the corner, arms wrapped around her nude self with her head resting on her knees._

_"Pathetic."_

_The young girl looked up. _Hiei?_ She parted her lips to speak, but nothing came out._

_"Do you want to get strong?" He asked. "So none of this would ever happen again?"_

_She looked around through blurred eyes, blurred with tears of fright. She listened to the screams, ears ringing from all the others that came before this. She felt the smooth ground beneath her, and recalled the unforgiving walls and floor that she scraped himself against to reach to safety. Her lips parted once again. "Yes," she croaked out._

_Hiei swirled around, katana drawn. "Then stand up on your two feet, child, and follow me."_

Xxx

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you right now," Swam snarled, short sword against his throat.

"Swan!" The Hokage.

"He killed Eagle!" She shouted, fingers tightening on the hilt. Her body spoke of hurt beyond words. "He killed him." He knew, knew that beneath her mask, tears were spilling down her face.

The Hokage soften. "Swan," he repeated, this time gently. His voice was full of understanding and the ANBU member, without meaning to, slowly calmed. That was, until Hiei opened his mouth.

"Oh. That guy with the eagle mask?" He said, his smirk razor sharp. "He was weak. I cut him down with one strike."

The calmer counters of her face twisted beneath her mask at those words. Letting out a howl of rage, she pushed the sword, imagining it going deep into the man's throat, his shocked face as he died. Her eyes widened when her sword went _through_ him, as though he was a ghost. No, an afterimage left from the extreme speed he moved.

She quickly swirled around, kunai in one hand, short sword in the other and found a katana at her throat. The situation was reversed. Before it could get out of hand, the leader intervened.

"Enough."

The Hokage's voice rang with demands of obedience and obedience he got. The weapon arms fell. "Hiei," he addressed. "You do realize killing an ANBU member would result in your death. In spite of it, why did you do it?"

The smirk remained on his face. "Before I answer, let me ask you, geezer. How do you reward people with the intention of treason?"

The Sandaime's eyes would have widened at the implication if he hadn't known better than to show his opponent any emotion. Besides Hiei, Swan flinched. The Professor's mind raced.

Treason. Eagle. Swan. Naruto.

…Kyuubi.

Eagle lost his only relative during the attack. Eagle.

He wanted to kill Naruto, who was housing Kyuubi. Naruto.

They didn't know what would happen to Kyuubi if Naruto died. Kyuubi.

There is a chance of Kyuubi being released in Konoha and the day of October 10th would repeat itself. Konoha would be destroyed this time. Treason.

Where did Swan fit in this? She was the one suppose to be guarding Naruto.

She was also Eagle's lover.

Eagle saw this as the perfect chance to kill Naruto and blame it on one of the people of the mob. He was a trained professional killer. He could easily frame someone else for it.

But Swan. Swan would be blame for not protecting him. The same Swan who requested to leave the ANBU a few weeks ago. Today was her last day. Eagle had already quit.

Everything fell into place.

The Hokage's eyes flashed to Swan's and saw the truth there. His eyes slowly closed, unable to bear it the pain. His and Swan's. She was sorry, for the betrayal and he, for having to take care of this matter as a Hokage and not someone who cared. When those eyes opened again, nothing revealed his emotions. He was not Hiruzen then, but the Hokage through and through.

"Hiei-kun, please leave us."

The demon stood there for a second in defiance, eyes boring into the other's. Finally, his feet moved. "I'll be going, old man, but make no mistake. There are few that I would take suggestions from and you are not one of them."


	19. A Little Change

"Yusuke-kun, is this alright?" Tenten's father asked, handing him the box.

Yusuke opened it and took a look, a melancholy smile appearing on his face as his fingers traced the contours. "It's fine," he answered, closing the box. "Thanks. How much is it?"

"Are you sure its fine?" the blacksmith asked, even as he told him the price. "You don't seem so… enthusiastic about it."

Yusuke grimaced. "It's not your work. They're as good as always. Just that Naruto wasn't exactly the same after the yesterday's incident." He handed him the money.

"Ah. That was a mess. Naruto-kun was the cause, wasn't he?"

Yusuke's eyes flashed. "It wasn't his fault."

The other held up a hand. "I wasn't blaming him, Yusuke-kun."

Yusuke sighed and raked a hand through his head. "Sorry. That was uncalled for. The whispers got to me. Everyone's just…" He gestured helplessly.

Tenten's father nodded understandingly. "It must not be easy. My advice is to have Naruto stay in for a while. Let the incident cool off."

"Yeah. That's what I'm planning to do."

Xxx

Naruto blinked blearily at the room, his hands automatically went to his eyes to rub them. Why is it so dark…? He was blindly reaching for the switch when out of nowhere, tiny flames appeared. Not just any flame, but black flames, with a darkish blue-purple glow around each one. It was pretty darn cool.

"Wha-?"

The door opened at the exact moment, light spilling into the room. In the middle stood his nii-chan with a wide grin on his face.

"Happy Birthday, Naruto!" He shouted, opening his hands. Confetti fell upon him and his bed like rain from the sky, enriching the place with color. That wasn't all though. The floating flames then moved into the light, revealing Hiei holding a tiny, but tasty-looking birthday cake. There were twelve candles on it, all lit with Hiei's dark flame. "Surprise?" Yusuke asked.

Naruto could only nod dumbly and stare in wonder. Yusuke let out a chuckle and held out his hand. "Come on, princess. The candles are going to melt if you continue to stare and trust me, it won't taste good on the cake."

Naruto blinked owlishly before a pout appeared on his face. He slapped Yusuke's hand like a high five. "Not princess," he huffed, climbing out of his bed. Colorful paper fell as he stood. "If I'm any royalty," he puffed up his chest. "I'm a prince."

Yusuke laughed boisterously at the response. He then bent down and picked up Naruto like he weighs nothing. The birthday boy squawked as he suddenly found his feet on nothing but air, and held on, overwhelmed with emotions. That only increased when he passed by the kitchen, where little stubs of candles were strewn all over. Cooled lumps of wax splattered all over the tiles and table and there were even a scorched table cloth in the garbage can. ("It's not easy lighting up tiny candles with a flame designated to kill, you imbecile." "C'mon, Hiei, you can do it. All you need is a little practice. Look, even Kurama agrees with me.")

Naruto ducked his head, burying it into his nii-chan's shoulder. "Hey, don't fall asleep. I'm going to call you Sleeping Beauty for the rest of the year if you do."

The child responded by punching Yusuke on the shoulder. "I'm not sleeping." He raised his head. "I'm not missing this for the world."

Another laugh. "Now that's the spirit."

True to Naruto's word, he didn't miss a single moment of the mini party, not until it was six in the next morning with the sun up. Like a child, he soon fell asleep, but it wasn't until a full week later that the sweetness of the cake left the now-twelve-years-old's tongue. Even then, he could never stop grinning at the mere recollection of the day.

Xxx

"A mission?" Yusuke asked, hands placed against the wooden table. Although his voice was even, the glint in his eyes betrayed his anticipation.

A chuckle escaped the Hokage's throat at his palpable excitement. "Yes, Yusuke-kun. It is a mission that few could do. In fact, I would say only you could do."

"Okay. Now you got me completely interested. Spill."

And so he began explaining about how someone stole a sealed scroll from Inaho Village, which contained sensitive information, from what they have heard and interpreted. The objective of the mission, however, was not to retrieve the stolen item. It would be nice if it came back to them in one piece, but what the village was truly concern about was the person who stole it. They requested to bring that thief back alive, if they can, so they could interrogate him. If not… well, at least the information won't get out.

"Wait. Not that I don't want to go or anything, but if they have their own ninja," he said. "Then why do I have to go?"

"As I've said, the information kept within the scroll was quite secretive. They probably want little people to know about its existence, especially their own people. This is why you specifically have to do it. Few people know of you, so they wouldn't link the incident back to Konoha or the village itself."

"I see. One last question. How in the world am I supposed to find him?"

"He is within the boundary of the village. If he tries to leave without any official document, other shinobi who patrols the border would have a reason to stop him."

"And that's just going right into Inaho's hand."

The Hokage nodded. "Correct."

"Alright. Now that's done…" Yusuke leaned forward. "When do I leave?"

Xxx

Yusuke's delight was impossible to miss. It was shown in his every move, his fluctuating energy and moreover, on his face. The grin on his face, at the moment, looked absolutely permanent. In fact, if one goes up to him and punch him in the face, he will probably laugh it off and punch him back, all with that silly grin.

As it was, even Naruto was able to sense when his nii-chan arrived home. "Nii-san, you're back! What did Jii-san want?"

Yusuke looked at him and _beamed_, causing Naruto to blink in bemusement. "Nii-san?"

"I'm finally going to get out of here!" Yusuke declared. He threw himself onto the couch. "Finally! I was getting suffocated."

He was so busy in his own world that he didn't notice Naruto's face became impossibly blank. He tried to be happy for his nii-san, because obviously he was happy, but he couldn't summon the strength to. He felt absolutely empty.

"Naruto?" A hand was shaking him. "Hey, you okay?"

"I'm fine, nii-chan," Naruto assured him, surprising himself with his calmness. A part of him wanted to scream, to be noticed, because he honestly thought Yusuke-nii would be with him forever because isn't he _family_? After letting him hope again, how could he just get up and leave as if nothing ever happened. Just… "How?"

"Naruto?" Yusuke reiterated in concern when he saw he wasn't sharing his happiness. His hand brushed locks of blond hair away from Naruto's forehead, checking for an above-normal temperature. He knew from one of those informative talks with Kurama that Naruto couldn't get sick or stay injured for long unless it is severe, but the action was quite automatic when he was worried.

"When?" the child asked, ignoring the hand. "When are you going?"

_"Yusu-" _Kurama couldn't stop his reply in time.

"Tomorrow."

Xxx

"My fault? How is this my fault?" Yusuke shouted. "He told me he was going for a walk!"

"And you believe him!" Hiei hissed back, eyes blazing. "You're unbelievable."

"Oh," Yusuke laughed, throwing his head back. "That's rich, man, coming from you."

"What did you say?" The fire demon demanded, grabbing onto the front of the other's attrite. He pulled him down to eye level.

Yusuke copied the motion and both of the demons' faces were then inches away, killing or at least severe maim intent hanging densely in the air. "You want to fight?" Yusuke asked. His eyes flashed. "Bring it on."

Hiei's newly acquired sword was halfway drawn when he stopped and visibly made an effort to control the urge to simply hack at everything in his way. He pushed the other demon backwards instead. "Your brat is on the Hokage Monument. Go to him now before you regret it."

"What's with the change of attitude, Hiei? Scared?" he taunted, hoping to get a good rise out of him. He almost got it.

Hiei slowly closed his eyes and took in a deep breath instead. "_Go_, Yusuke." When Yusuke still didn't budge, he looked straight at him. "Or have you forgotten the reason Naruto was suppose to stay in for two weeks?"

Yusuke's eyes widen as it dawned on him. Without another word, he raced past Hiei, not even bothering to close the door behind him.

Xxx

"Narut-!" Yusuke cut himself off and stared, jaws slacked. He prepared himself for the worst. He really did. But all those preparation didn't help him anticipate this.

"HIEI, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" he shouted, his voice echoing for quite a distance.

Back at the house, Hiei smirked behind his cup of green tea.

Nothing. Abso-fucking-lutely NOTHING happened to Naruto, who Hiei was describing as though he might as well be dead.

_You're kidding me_, Yusuke thought. Naruto had long since stopped swinging his legs over the edge and was then simply staring silently at Yusuke, waiting for his move.

Yusuke had always been the impulsive one, so he allowed his body to guide him. They lead him to sit side by side with Naruto, legs dangling over the edge as well. There was just something about bits of danger that called out to him. It made his blood boil in a way no other can.

"So-"Yusuke started awkwardly, but he wasn't the only one who hates being passive. Naruto cut him off.

"Before," he began. He looked down at his fingers. "Before I was being silly," he admitted. "I thought you were going to leave me, like for good. I was upset. I didn't want you to go. I_ like _being with you." He paused. "But I'm being selfish, aren't I? Nii-san always let me do what I want. It's not fair I don't let you."

Yusuke opened his mouth to speak, but Naruto shook his head. "It's not only that though." He looked up. "I trust you nii-san, or at least I thought I did. Now I don't know. I thought I got over it, but…" He took in a deep breath. "I- I want to trust again, nii-san, so I'll try my best. So…" _…so please don't abandon me._

Yusuke swallowed that the somber situation. _How do I always get myself in this mess?_

"Naruto," Yusuke spoke at last. "Don't be an idiot. I know you are smarter than this." He stood, towering over the child. "Of _course_ I won't abandon you. Just who do you think I am?"

"You're…" Good question. Just who is this person standing before him? Naruto arrived at the answer even before his brain sent the signal to open his mouth. "You're my Yusuke-nii."

Yusuke-nii grinned. "Damn right," he confirmed and ruffled his hair.

* * *

><p>There were a great deal of reviews since the last update, so first of all, thank you. I always wanted to hear about other people's opinion on this story. A few points were made within those reviews, so I'm going to address them now.<p>

**Plot**: All in honesty, there really isn't much plot. This is mostly about Yusuke's life within Konoha, detailing his interaction with others. If the summary made you expect something more adventure-like, then I apologize. I am trying to get this to resemble something with a plot, but please realize that this fic, as a reader had noted, is extremely slow paced. The problem isn't even realized yet, so the resolution is definitely in the distant future.

Naruto's birthday: I'm so sorry. I'm ashamed to call myself a fan now. Naruto's birthday is on October 10th. Thank you, Shaded Truths, for pointing that out. It has been corrected.

Illegal entrance: I'm not sure how many readers recall this bit. It is at the end of chapter 2 and beginning of chapter 3, about how Yusuke jumped over the fence surrounding Konoha instead of walking in through the front gate. I was stretching it when I called it illegal entrance, but I figured there is a reason for the guards at the gate. Plus, the Hokage needed an excuse to speak with this obviously powerful foreigner to find out his true intention and what is better than to say he is entering illegally? It sounds politically suave enough (or at least I hope) and the ANBU could say that instead of stopping Yusuke and go 'you look very suspicious so would you please come with us?' I mean, really. Who is the suspicious sounding one now?

Patrolling: Not sure if they actually does that but I need a reason for him to stay within the area.

**Yusuke's strength**: Shall all be explained in due time. Hopefully, it won't sound too much like an excuse for how Yusuke's current strength when the time comes.

Stuff Yusuke's learning: He's not going to learn all that much since I don't want anyone accusing me of writing a Gary-stu. In addition, the character himself, as I mentioned in the previous chapter, really doesn't have the patience for it. Henge and Kage Bunshin are exceptions since I could already imagine how much fun he'll have with it, as One of Inspiration had mentioned.


	20. Mission Starts

"Did you get a lot blanket and clothes?"

"Yes," came the exasperated response.

"How about some food?"

"Yeah."

"Are those ramen?"

Yusuke gave him a pointed look. "Really? Is this really necessary?" he asked, gesturing to the bloated bag in his hand. He held up the other to stop Naruto's oncoming and probably ridiculous response. "Anyway, how come you sound like my parent?" He rolled his eyes. "Makes me wonder who is the guardian of whom."

Naruto hmped and crossed his arms, body pivoting away from his nii-san. "I was just looking out for you," he replied petulantly.

Yusuke let a sigh of amusement and crouched down, placing the bag onto the floor for a moment. "Come 'ere, Naruto." The child glanced over and scrutinized at him, eyes narrowing in suspicion. Yusuke kept his smile friendly and gestured him over. Finally, the child did.

Yusuke wrapped an arm around him. "Thanks, Naruto," he whispered. "I know you care, I know. But so do I, so let me be the adult here, okay?" he asked, bringing the child to arm length so both were at eye level. There were a few moments of silence between them, before Naruto nodded.

A grin immediately sprouted on the older one's face.

"First, remember to always brush your teeth, Naruto," he began, "and bath regularly. You also can't eat ramen every day, even if it is delicious, and washing your hands before that is a must. Did I forget anything?" he asked himself. "Oh, and-"

"Ahh! Stop, stop, stop. What are you doing, nii-san?" Naruto's face was beet-red. "You made me seem like a kid!" he exclaimed.

Yusuke blinked owlishly, as if confounded. "You're not?"

"Nii-san!"

Yusuke's pretences promptly melted and a genuine laugh escaped his throat as he purposely messed up Naruto's hair. "Alright, fine," he laughed. "But on a serious note, I'll be back soon. Heard the village is not far. Hiei will take care of you meanwhile, so just stay under his radar and you'll be fine. Capiche ?"

Naruto, despite not knowing what 'capiche' means, nodded. "Uh-huh."

Yusuke gave him one last ruffle. "Good."

Xxx

"You are…?"

"Toshiro," came the curt response.

"You're here because…?"

"I'm going with you to Inaho as a diplomat."

"Are you a machine?"

"No."

"I'm trying to have a conversion here, man."

"We're conversing, aren't we?"

"Great." _This is going to be a long, long trip._

Xxx

"How are we getting there?"

"We're running."

"…Can you even run?"

"That was rather offensive."

A shrug. "I've done worst. How far is it?"

"Four days away if we start running now."

"…Shut up. Got it."

Xxx

"Hey, Toshi-"Yusuke stopped and stared at the tattoo on the other man's forearm. It was wrapped in bandages before, so he didn't notice. Now he did and he has to say it looked strange. It even felt funny. A ninja tattoo quirk maybe?

The man noticed his staring and quickly finished rewrapping his arm. "You set up the camp?"

"Uh-huh. The fire is crackling loudly now." He paused. "Mind me asking about the tattoo?"

"Yes."

"…Damn. You really don't like me, do you?"

"…You're awfully blunt."

"That didn't answer my question, but yeah. Why go around a subject when you could just face it head on and be done with it?"

"You would make a terrible shinobi." Before Yusuke could remind him again of dodging his former question yet again, he said, "and no, I don't hate you. That's just part of my charm."

There was a pregnant pause.

"That was a joke, wasn't it?"

"No…"

"Oh crap, I got you to crack a joke! I bet it was _my_ charming personality that got that icy attitude melting."

"…I think you would also start melting if I push you into that fire you just made."

"Well, there goes my break through."

Xxx

"Toshiro-kun, can we get going yet?" Yusuke asked for the tenth time. Not that he have been counting because he was bored, of course. Nope.

'Toshiro-kun' didn't even bother casting him a sideways glance after the second time and simply elbowed him in the stomach while continuing to speak with the leader of the Inoha Village.

Yusuke groaned in frustration and waited as patiently as he could. _Finally_, they could go.

"Thank god," Yusuke muttered as he rushed out the room as humanely as possible without seeming to be rude. He paused at a thought. "On a second thought, never mind." Not if the god is that arrogant infant who he happen to know.

"You don't know the phrase 'patience is a virtue,' do you?" Toshiro asked on his right.

"Nope," Yusuke replied with a devil-may-care attitude, hands casually placed behind his head. "Not at all."

Toshiro simply sighed. "Where are you going?" he questioned.

"To hunt that guy down, of course."

"Do you even know his appearance?"

Yusuke stopped and gave him a sheepish smile. Toshiro could only resist sighing again.

Xxx

"Earth Release: Mudslide!"

Toshiro kept his face utterly blank as he observed his companion, who jumped to another tree as the one he formerly stood on fell. This was unbecoming of a shinobi, really.

After spending two days of tracking the thief of Inoha's sealed scroll with no result (Toshiro had looked forward to seeing how he would handle such situation, so he didn't bother giving him any help), Yusuke had finally gotten annoyed. Frustrated, he decided it would be a good idea to call the shinobi out. What was more amazing, however, was that Asakura Kojima had actually responded.

A laugh brought Toshiro back to the present. A laugh, on the battlefield. Who would do so, besides maybe Anko? His current companion, of course.

Yusuke had a smile so wide that it appeared to cover his whole face. Toshiro watched as he gathered chakra at his feet and pushed off, barks flying everywhere after him as a result.

The two fighters met and exchanged blows for a short while. Yusuke was fighting with only his fists even though his opponent was using kunai and other ninjutsu. The smile was maintained through the whole time when he was dodging attacks, countering and even when he got hit.

Toshiro observed silently from a distant as his acquaintance finally took out some, four, to be precise, kunai. He said something as he held one kunai in his dominant hand and three in the other. Toshiro augmented his hearing with chakra and focused. "…use explosive tags." Then, he threw them one by one at Asakura. The man easily dodged them all, as Yusuke's throwing really wasn't the best.

They didn't need to be.

Four loud booms followed consecutively, causing Toshiro to be glad he had the insight to weaken his hearing as soon as he heard Yusuke say explosive part. White smoke covered that whole section of the forest.

Toshiro debated whether or not to go in, as he wanted to see the outcome. In the end, he decided not to as he didn't want to get involved with the other's battle and the smoke would clear soon enough. And it did.

It was unexpected. The smoke had only hung around for a minute and a half at most, perhaps due to an unintentional small forest fire. The burnt patch of land near the two fighters supported his theory. In that short amount of time, Yusuke had somehow managed to make Asakura look utterly beaten. Just what happened?

The two men once again began conversing. Toshiro was heightening his hearing again when he sensed someone Body Flickering over to him. He looked over and another Asakura about two hundred meters away, the distant decreasing every time he Body Flickered.

Shadow Clone jutsu. Clearly, he was hoping for a hostage.

Toshiro had a kunai in hand before he could even think. But then his eyes went to Yusuke, whose eyes widened dramatically when he saw two copies of his opponent. Catching on, Yusuke quickly belted the one before him, causing it to disappear with a puff of smoke before it was even able to react. Then, he began to run. It was obvious that he hadn't mastered Body Flicker, however, and Asakura had a huge head start. Meters were the distant between them and that was only increasing. He wasn't going to reach them in time.

And what could 'Toshiro' do? Fight? Also run? He could do either but…

But… loyalty comes first and just what was his job here?

Against all his instincts as a shinobi, he silently slipped the kunai back into his sleeves. It was close enough that it would fall into his hands again within a split second, but far deep enough that it wouldn't be noticeable. Then, he adjusted his stance accordingly.

He was going to fight. He grimaced inwardly. With ninjutsu.


	21. When everything becomes history: The End

I'm back. Sorry for the long wait, but I was working on the final chapter and yes, this is the final chapter. I know this is kinda abrupt, but I don't have enough time to type everything I've been planning out. This chapter basically summarizes all that I've been planning, the ending included. This story is thereby complete.

Thanks for reading all the way to the twenty-first chapter. This is more than I could ever hope for.

A little warning before I let you read the actual text: I've written this chapter in a strange order, so there may be places that feels awkward and such. At times, I'm also going to stray completely off track about the condition of the world (you'll get what I mean when you read it). Just be mindful of this and remember that this _is_ rated T . Then, without further ado, I present you with the last chapter of Little Things.

* * *

><p>Yusuke sighed as he glanced at the figure on the bed, prone and practically motionless. It has been like this for how long? Three months? Two years? Yeah, two years sound about right.<p>

Really, he hadn't expected any happily ever after for them, but is asking him to wake, or even show any signs of waking, too much to ask for? Yusuke slumped against the wall and sunk down, unable to put up a front as he had done for _two fucking years_. That is nothing compared to demon years, nothing at all, but this is wearing him down, just as it had wore down everyone else. They visited practically every day at the beginning, all too hopeful that he was going to get up and acted as though nothing had happened. They came everyday for nine months straight, having high hope each time they walked through that door, only for it to come crashing down _every damn time_ as they walk back out, the figure on the bed remaining unchanged as ever.

In the end, they simply gave up. Yusuke could tell they didn't mean to, not at all, and that they still clung onto the small, thin strand of hope that he was going to wake. But no more, Yusuke could also see they've decided, are they going to slowly kill themselves with all that unanswered hope. He hadn't waked, not even once, for more than half-a-year, which was plenty of time for even the most severely injured demon to recover. In human terms, he had entered into a coma state and just how often do those people wake up?

Yusuke resisted the urge to cry as he buried his face in his hands. And the worst part, Yusuke decided, was that even he was beginning to think that way.

Across from Yusuke, the finger of the figure on the bed twitched.

Xxx

"Kurama…" Yusuke unknowingly whispered as he stared at the figure sitting up on the bed, hope rising up to his chest at an uncontrollable rate. Yusuke let out a breathless laugh of incredulity as his hand rose to pinch himself. "I'm not dreaming, right?" The light pain tingling on his forearm confirmed it. It wasn't a dream. It was reality. A smile spread across his face as he stood. "You're really awake."

There was a moment frozen in time, a moment where nothing changed even as seconds ticked away and nothing moved. Then, slowly, Kurama's head turned to Yusuke's direction and just when he thought he couldn't get even happier to see that Kurama actually responded, Yusuke's eyes met the other's and the smile slowly melted away. _No…_

Sitting up across from the raven haired demon, the figure's eyes slowly rose to meet Yusuke's, narrowing at what he had seen there. His lips parted and rather than what Yusuke desperately wanted to hear, three words were presented to him instead.

"_Who are you?"_

And right there, on the spot, Yusuke's world came crashing back down again.

Xxx

Yusuke supposed, had anyone asked about how things end up the way they did, he would have began from three weeks after he returned from his first mission, which was successfully completed, if not with a little difficulty.

Had it been a year ago, Yusuke would have been fine, able to defeat the man even with both arms tied to his back and with his eyes blindfolded as well. However, things were a little different. It wasn't as though he had lost his battle skills, but rather that they were sealed. Well, his spirit and demon energy were sealed, to be precise. It was shortly after he had chosen to enter Human World to search for Kurama.

Now, while entering Human World sounds extremely easy and one could argue that it is, there was one obstacle that Yusuke had to face and that was Spirit World's people. One must not forget that only one of _them_ could open a portal to go between the worlds, and that none of Spirit World's people would for Yusuke. They deemed him as all too dangerous, especially as a S-class demon, to go interact with the defenseless mankind, who would disintegrate at the brush of Yusuke's imposing aura, or so the rumors goes.

Whether that is true or not is up for debate, but the fact remains that Yusuke was dangerous and that the Spirit World was particularly touchy regarding the Human World. Yusuke deduced it most likely had something to do with the Human-World-almost-ended episode, which was all too fresh in Spirit World's people's mind due to their rather long life span.

I mean, wouldn't that be a disaster if it ends again, this time for real, once Yusuke step a foot in? Not that he have _that _much power, of course, much rather than use it, but Spirit World's people did appear to him as paranoid bastards. Even Koenma was a little fidgety about it, even though he knew Yusuke would never deliberately end Human World. Deliberately is the key word. Yusuke was known to act before he thinks, after all, and for his energy to respond to his emotions, which he admittedly couldn't control as well as, let's say, Kurama. And even Kurama explodes sometimes, so Yusuke guess, ultimately, all their worry wasn't _that_ unfounded.

Needless to say, in the end, Yusuke was just too impatient to search for another way and it wasn't as though his energy was being sealed permanently. Koenma made sure of that, if nothing else, and told Yusuke that the seal would weaken over time. (Every time it overflows [1])

Which it did, eventually, but it caused much trouble for Yusuke even before that and made its presence known by obnoxiously augmenting Yusuke's strength on a daily bases, all at random intervals so that, presently, there are Yusuke hand prints all over the house. Naruto thought it was cool and tried to do it himself, but it got annoying after the first few times.

It didn't help that these incidents also happened outside of Yusuke's home, which caused plenty of property damage in the village which the Hokage had to pay for. So, really, it came to no one's surprise when the Hokage politely asked Yusuke to stay out of Konoha until this phase of his retreats, under the cover of him doing another trivial mission that was far, far away from Konoha.

It took three whole months until things returned back to normal and Yusuke's excess energy that was sealed burned out. Yusuke cursed the stupid seal and his huge reserve of energy. Had it not been for his huge pool of energy, his energy/charka would never have to be sealed. If his energy was never sealed, the energy that _had been_ would not have been causing problems by fluctuating all this time to get the energy that had not been used out (via surrounding his body with energy like a protective _and _offensive armor 24/7).

During that time, he had completed fifteen more occasional missions, all ranging from C-rank to A-rank. He also apparently did one S-rank missions, but Yusuke hardly counted that. It was just for meeting this ungrateful lady named Tsunade, who also happen to have really, really bad luck.

Apparently, Tsunade was a former pupil of the Hokage's who broke all ties with Konoha. He had heard that she was in a town near where Yusuke was then from _another _former student of his, and wanted to know about her welfare. He also requested to, if possible, mention Konoha to judge her reaction to see if she had finally came to accept her hometown once again. The Hokage did warn Yusuke to do so at his own risk of earning her wrath though, as she was known for having extraordinary strength. Yusuke had later accepted that as the truth, as he had personally experienced it.

Once Yusuke have arrived at the mentioned town where this Tsunade was, he immediately headed to the casino as suggested. After that, it was almost ridiculous how easy it was to spot her. He took a seat next to her as he studied her, wondering what to tell the Hokage. Recalling the rumor of her terrible luck and knowing he'll have to gamble too, if he wants to stay there without looking suspicious, he placed a bet that was directly opposite of hers and hoped he won't lose all his money before he completes the mission.

Surprisingly, or at least to him, he won. From then on, it became almost automatic to place a bet that was opposite of hers as he continued to study her. Like that, half an hour passed before the lady abruptly stood, causing another lady by her side that he hadn't noticed before to stand as well. Yusuke wondered how he didn't notice her, as she had a _pig_ of all things in her arm, as though it was it pet. Hell, it was even wearing a robe.

He didn't have much time to muse about that however, since the next thing he know, the Tsunade lady roughly seized him by the front of his shirt like a rag doll and _pulled _until their faces were mere inches apart. The chips that he had won through betting against her fell to the ground, causing him to mentally groan at all that would have to picked up later. Beside her, the lady with the pig started waving her free arm around, trying to pacify her. Tsunade wouldn't be pacified, however, absolutely annoyed that Yusuke had been betting against her ever since he got there and that he had won while she lost. Others had done the same, but they knew better than to bet against her too many times in a row. Yusuke, on the other hand, didn't have any prior knowledge about that and now she exploded in his face. In the end, they took it outside.

At the beginning, Tsunade looked down upon Yusuke just as she would later with Naruto by saying that only one finger was needed to defeat him. Yusuke kindly returned the sentiment with his middle finger and said he would fight with that finger then. Thus, the battle that night began and promptly took the title for being the strangest battle ever, since both participators had used only used a single finger to fight until the very end. Ultimately, Tsunade's short-fused nature got the better of her and she punched Yusuke, who didn't see that coming.

Thankfully, since Yusuke still had plenty of excess energy, the energy cloth that surrounded him lessened the damage considerably. He still got some bruised rib though, for he had angered Tsunade pretty badly and she had expressed that through her punch that could easily put a crater into the ground. Shizune immediately began fussing over him, her medic side coming out. Yusuke ended up going back to the hotel where they were staying so she could take care of the injury. Tsunade didn't complain since she knew the extent of her strength and Shizune could be pretty frightening when she want to.

After the check up in which Shizune stared in amazement at the only bruised ribs and not broken bones and then proceed to heal him, Yusuke booked a room in the same hotel so he could spend the night. The next day, Tsunade and Shizune hurriedly packed to leave the town, since the people began the chase of going after them for the gambling debts. Yusuke settled that by mentioning about the pile he earned yesterday and still didn't get, which caused the people to pale, as it was a huge sum. So when Yusuke hinted that he will forfeit that money if her debt was erased, they readily agreed.

All he got for his effort was a snort from Tsunade though, who stated that he got that money by using her anyway and left. Shizune soon followed, but not before whispering to him that she was grateful for what he had done and that she could tell he had gained Tsunade's respect. Like that, the mission was over and Yusuke later really regretted letting all that money go, since his money that he had earned from the previous mission was among that pile (to be a starter for gambling) and he wouldn't get any money for this mission until he writes the report and spend it back to Konoha. Then, he'll have to wait for the stupid bird to fly back to_ this _village with the money.

Speaking of which, he didn't mention Konoha to Tsunade at all. That's fine, right? The Hokage will still give him his share of money after he split it to give Naruto and Hiei for living fee (which the Hokage stopped paying for when he began doing missions, especially since them three each has an outrageous appetite), right? With all this wondering, Yusuke was almost glad to be back to Konoha after three months of being a vagabond, even if he did lose his freedom of traveling again.

Returning back to Konoha almost gave him as much problems as being away from it. He was beginning to wonder if it was such a good idea, because for one, Naruto have been acting strange for some reason and Hiei (and maybe Kurama) seemed to be hiding something from him.

There was no physical evidence, none at all, yet something felt strange about Hiei. He was that kind of straight forward person, just like him, so he know that if Hiei had done something, he would admit it. However, they also differ in the way that Hiei doesn't freely give away something. It's only if someone catches on the something that is amiss and accurately pinpoint the something and then proceed to confront him about it, then he would admit/deny it. That admittance/denial, as a rule, would always be truthful.

In the same way, the reverse is also true. If the person doesn't follow the rule to the game (and yes, this is one), then Hiei would only give him an infuriating smirk and tell him to come back and question him when he know exactly what is wrong. That's just the kind of person he is. He hides a secret in plain sight, letting you know there is a secret and proceed to smirk at you when you can't figure out what exactly is it. [2]

When he was trying to hide what was amiss instead of _not_ hiding what was amiss, however, (which was rarely as that bastard was quite prideful and never does something he wouldn't admit) that was when something was wrong. Hiei seldom does this, and when he does, it is usually for someone's sake. An example of this is Hiei's refusal to tell Yukina about their blood relation. Even though Yukina wanted to know, he doesn't tell her that he is her brother because he believed that Yukina would be happier not knowing.

The worrisome thing about this is that the something Hiei is hiding from him fits in the latter category. If that's the case, it would either be for Kurama or Yusuke himself. Both concern him either way, so he really needed to know what that something is. Now if only he could find out… Easier said than done, however. When Hiei doesn't want something to be known, he makes sure it _will not_ known.

It was only pure luck that Yusuke noticed that every day, Hiei would always go somewhere at a certain time. Knowing this was what Hiei was hiding from him, or at least related to that, Yusuke attempted to follow. But Hiei was simply too quick for that and his Jagan was a radar that helps Hiei evade him. So, three days after his failed stalking, Yusuke developed a plan.

Five minutes before Hiei went for that meeting of his, Yusuke massed produced himself using the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique. Since "Shadow Clones can't be distinguished from the actual person even by the Byakugan because the clones have the exact same amount of chakra and aren't made from any other substance," Yusuke knew even Hiei's Jagan wouldn't be able to tell them apart. The hundreds of Yusukes then spread throughout Konoha with the order from the original Yusuke to dispel once they spot either Hiei himself, or a black blur that was probably him, so Yusuke himself would get an update once in a while regarding Hiei's whereabouts. Then, they simply waited for Hiei's move.

Five minutes after five minutes passed, and Hiei still didn't make a move. It was when nearly every Yusuke in the town was virtually falling asleep that Hiei did dart out of the house. This prompted a series of self-dispelling to go off once the clones realized and thus the chase begins.

In the end, Yusuke did achieve his goal. One of his few batches of clones had predicted that Hiei was heading to the forest and had cleverly Henged into several of things (i.e. tree, squirrel, birds, etc.) to match the surrounding. A few then volunteered to appear before Hiei when he arrives to explain away Yusuke's chakra that was in the surrounding and to lower Hiei's guard.

And it worked.

The transformed clones had spotted who he was meeting before they got discovered and was personally dispelled by Hiei. Yusuke should have been happy to have achieved his goal, and he would have if the person Hiei had gone to meet was anyone other than Naruto.

Yusuke…he didn't know what to think, and it only added to his confusion when he bumped into Iruka-sensei, Naruto's teacher who Yusuke had met once when Yusuke had gone to pick Naruto up. Iruka-sensei asked him why Naruto hadn't attended to class for _three-straight-months_, and for the life of him, Yusuke couldn't answer. After making some vague promise about making Naruto go again, Yusuke excused himself.

The next day, Yusuke slept all the way into noon, as if trying to sleep away his turmoil. It didn't work, of course, and he was forced to face reality when he found himself lying on the bed, too awake to sleep anymore. Thinking he was too old for this, he slipped out of his room and promptly came face to face with half of the source of his problem.

Naruto still wasn't in school. Inquiring about that, Naruto eventually let it slip that he had 'Hiei-sensei' to teach him cool techniques to impress Sakura-chan, so he didn't need the stupid academy anymore. As soon as he learned enough from Hiei-sensei, he was going to beat Sasuke-teme up and prove to Sakura-chan that he was the better choice.

Unable to believe that Naruto could have mentioned learning 'cool techniques' without once saying anything about becoming the Hokage, Yusuke was convinced that something was wrong. He questioned Naruto about his dream of becoming the Hokage, only for Naruto to blink in confusion at him.

Yusuke's heart thud loudly against his chest at the deafening silence that followed, wondering just what the hell was wrong with Naruto. In the back of his mind, Yusuke also resolved to have a talk with Hiei. Just when Yusuke was about to prompt Naruto to speak again, Naruto suddenly exclaimed that "Of course I'm going to be the Hokage." At the same moment, a familiar light that was formerly missing entered Naruto's eyes, the light that appears whenever he speaks of his dream.

The weight in his heart lightened considerably at the familiar response, but Yusuke didn't let that stop him from getting to the bottom of this business. He was sick of being out of the loop and being goddamn confuse. Mercilessly, Yusuke interrogated Naruto.

When did Hiei begin training him? After Yusuke left for his first mission. They stopped temporarily when Yusuke returned, so Naruto 'could spend some time with Yusuke again,' according to Hiei. The training started up again after he left.

Why did he keep it away from Yusuke? Naruto really, really wanted to tell Yusuke-nii in the beginning when they have begun training, but Hiei-sensei suggested to wait until he gets very powerful. Then, he could awe his Yusuke-nii with his awesomeness and power. Naruto eventually took to the idea.

Why did he stop wanting to be the Hokage? At this question, Naruto adamantly protested that he had never given up. He wants to be the Hokage even now. When questioned about when was the last time he had thought about it, however, Naruto couldn't give an answer.

"I was really busy," Naruto protested, albeit weakly, "training with Hiei-sensei."

Hiei-sensei again. Yusuke was really beginning to see a pattern here.

After making Naruto promise that he was going to attend to classes five times a week for two weeks and for the rest of the semester, at least three days a week ("How are you going to become the Hokage if you don't become a ninja first? You can't become a ninja if you don't graduate from the academy, you know, and as of now, you didn't attend to enough classes to have enough knowledge to past the final exam. How many years do you want to keep doing this, falling each time when everyone else pass?""I didn't want to fail!""Then go, and when you pass, we'll celebrate."), he went straight to Hiei, the son of a bitch. He would love to say he found Hiei right away, but it was only when night fell and Hiei returned that Yusuke really got to talk with him.

"What the fuck," was the first thing that came out of Yusuke's mouth. Yusuke already knew Hiei was using Jagan to manipulate Naruto's behavior and Kurama was obviously involved with it, perhaps helped him even. He just didn't know why. Hiei told him why, and in the harshest way possible.

"You're a fucking idiot," Hiei had told him straight from the start, "an idiotic and naïve _fool_. Did you think that after finding Kurama everything is the fine? Sorry to shatter your _pathetic_ delusions, but _this_ is reality."

Reality was that Kurama was sealed within Naruto, and with things the way they are, he was going to be stuck there until the brat dies. And when the brat dies, so would Kurama.

Why did Hiei manipulate Naruto's thought so he would only think about stronger? Naruto is _weak_, Hiei stressed. As of now, he has no chance against most of the shinobi out there. Even among his peer, Hiei wasn't sure if Naruto could win without getting too injured if it came down to a fight. Leaving Naruto to his own device regarding this was practically suicide, Naruto's and Kurama's. Yusuke, looking past his automatic defensiveness on Naruto's behalf, found that to be unfortunately true.

That was also exactly the reason Hiei planned all their sessions during school hour. There was no way Hiei was going to let Naruto deliberately place himself in danger by going on missions as a ninja. No way, and the best way to prevent that was simply made it so he _can't_ become a ninja. Naruto was known for constantly skipping classes anyway, so no one would question about it. Naruto himself didn't protest this arrangement at all.

There were several times that Naruto wanted to go back to the academy to see his Sakura-chan or to humiliate Sasuke-teme by challenging him to a fight in front of the whole class and winning, but with a little persuasion with Jagan (wouldn't it look better to win effortlessly on Naruto's part than to win by the inch of a hair?), Naruto soon put those thoughts in the recess of his mind and concentrated on his training. Every time Naruto did complain about working too hard, however, Hiei would pull 'Sakura-chan' and 'Sasuke-teme' to the front of Naruto's mind to serve as a motivator. Yusuke thought he detected a hint of Kurama-style planning there, but didn't say anything.

Ultimately, it came down to the fact that Hiei doesn't trust Kurama with anyone, including Naruto himself. Keeping anyone safe in the Shinobi World where killing was the basis of their foundation was nearly impossible, especially if one was a ninja, and with the threat that Kurama would die if Naruto does, Hiei decided to strengthen Naruto enough for him to protect himself (and Kurama) while killing Naruto's chances of walking straight into danger by preventing him from being a shinobi.

Yusuke was on the verge of eploding by the time Hiei was done, but then Kurama spoke up and asked Hiei to bring the two of them into Naruto's mindscape. Glaring at Yusuke, Hiei did as he was asked. Kurama started out by apologizing for keeping this away from Yusuke, but he didn't want Yusuke to worry about his sealed condition. Then he went on berating Hiei for giving a misleading explanation and making it sound atrocious when it was anything but.

Yusuke had seen Kurama at work, and had known he had this way with manipulating information and facts, but seeing and being subjected to it was two different matters. Yusuke could relate a little better to Kurama's victims. Kurama's silver tongue really can mess with your mind and screw you over with the mind fucking.

Using Jagan to make Naruto think only of getting stronger? Naruto was a child and has a short attention span. Jagan was just extending that attention span of his by constantly bringing up 'Sakura-chan' and 'Sasuke-kun' to Naruto's mind. There was nothing wrong with that. It was like promising some cookies to a child if they did all their homework. A prize will keep Naruto going on, and it wasn't as though they were physically stopping Naruto from seeing his peers. What Hiei said _was _true. Naruto would look better if he won by a gap rather than a margin against Sasuke and with that, Sakura-chan would surely go for Naruto. That was simply killing two birds with one stone.

Not letting Naruto go to the academy? Once again, neither Hiei nor Kurama was stopping Naruto from going. Naruto himself just happened to have a dislike of going, so he constantly skipped. Kurama, having seen that and knowing the importance of education, suggested Hiei to teach Naruto.

Their training time coinciding with the academy's was on purpose. Kurama would hate to change a schedule that Naruto was used to already, so he stuck with that one to make Naruto more comfortable. Kurama also knew that Naruto was a diligent person and should he ever decide to go back to the academy and their schedule doesn't coincide, Kurama was afraid that Naruto would try doing the academy's work _and _Hiei's training. That would be overboard and would do more harm than good, so Kurama coincide the time to make sure that wouldn't happen. Only that Naruto never did want to go back to the academy, and who was Hiei to turn down a willing and free student?

Lastly, the training wasn't doing any harm. Kurama and Hiei were only looking out for Naruto and wanted him to be able to defend himself. Kurama admitted that he also had self-interest in mind when he asked Hiei to train Naruto, since he didn't want to die anytime, but that was only normal. Who would be willing to die if there is a chance to live?

Now that Yusuke knew Hiei and Kurama's side of the story, he had to decide. Would he choose Kurama and Hiei, who both had been a great friend for him longer than he could even remember, or Naruto, someone who he came to see as a son (because honestly, Naruto was too young to be considered as 'brother'). The answer seemed so obvious, yet…

"You guys made it seem like those are the only choices," Yusuke says, his voice surprisingly calm. "To chose between you or Naruto, I mean."

Kurama recovered from the shock first. "What do you propose then, Yusuke?"

Yusuke blinked at Kurama in genuine bemusement. "Propose? Kurama, you know I'm mostly all brawls. You're the one with all the brains."

"You're talking in riddles here, Yusuke."

"Nothing. I'm proposing nothing. But did you really think that choosing between you two is the only choice? You wanted to control Naruto so he won't put himself and you in danger, but did you honestly think it would work? You can lock Naruto up in the house so he won't go anywhere, but what if the house suddenly collapses and he dies just like that? If that is fate, then nothing can stop it."

"Fate?" Hiei sneered. "Since when do you believe in that?"

"I don't. Never did and never would. Crap. I really want a cig."

"This conversation getting nowhere."

"Yusuke… Are you saying to let destiny take its course?"

"Exactly. There are things that even we can't stop, so why stress over it? We'll take action when that time comes."

"We might be too late by the time."

"It's never too late. I died and was brought back to life because it wasn't time for me to die yet." An ironic grin curled Yusuke's lips. "It wasn't fate for my demon blood to be awakened and for my life to lengthen the second time I died though."

"You're saying that we could outwit Kurama's fate," Hiei stated. "How?"

"Because we know the God who knows Naruto's ending."

Hiei was gone the next day and when Naruto asked, Yusuke simply answered Hiei-sensei had business to take care of. [3]

Time passed and Little Things' timeline soon collide with the canon _Naruto_ timeline. Everything would follow _Naruto_'s timeline, with Yusuke taking care of the aftermath of each event. For example, the Mizuki incident would continue on, because Yusuke was out on a mission during that time. He came back soon enough to deal with the aftermath, when Naruto begin questioning about whether he really was a demon or not. Yusuke would have told him that of course he wasn't, and asked Naruto if he could keep a secret. Naruto said yes, and Yusuke would explain that the demon within him was actually a friend of Yusuke's who was unknowingly attacked Konoha. He was powerful, but wouldn't deliberately hurt others unless it was a mutual agreed battle or for self-defense _or _for protecting others.

Hearing that, Naruto wanted to speak with Kurama and that soon became was a great source of annoyance for Yusuke. Because the seal was to protect Naruto from Kurama (the evil, evil demon)'s bad influence, Hiei had only been able to crack enough of the seal on Kurama's side for Kurama to perceive what Naruto sees and hear Naruto if he projects his thoughts to Kurama as though Naruto was speaking to Kurama. If Naruto wants to hear/see Kurama, he would have to somehow crack the barrier on his side. Since Yusuke was the only one that could communicate directly with Kurama, he ended up being a messenger for Naruto. It was very annoying.

But because Kurama and Naruto communicated, Naruto learned for himself that Kurama wasn't the big, bad demon that everyone says he was and Kurama could see why Yusuke treasures Naruto so much.

Of course, despite all the good that being a messenger could bring, Yusuke couldn't say he wasn't happy when Naruto and Kurama could finally communicate directly with each other after the Land of Waves arc.

Yusuke had met Naruto's new sensei before anything else, when Jiji brought Hatake over to his home to show the man Naruto's living condition so that Hatake could understand the boy more. He had slept in that day and therefore, was home when Jiji showed Hatake around.

Stumbling out of his room with a hand scratching his belly, Yusuke supposed that wasn't the best first impression Hatake could have. With another hand covering a yawn, Yusuke sleepily asked Jiji what he was doing there, who was that with him, and did he have to break into his house? all in one breath right before he closed the restroom door. The Hokage answered him when he stepped back out, all refreshed and presentable, and looked absolutely like nothing of the man before. Hatake seemed surprised, although Yusuke couldn't have been sure. Kurama, Yusuke knew, would have known.

At the mention of Hatake being Naruto's sensei, Yusuke looked over at the man in a different sense. "Shouldn't you be meeting with your team?" he had asked, legs planted solidly apart as he leaned forward, reaching for his cigarette box and lighter. He lit one nonchalantly, cigarette between his lips as his finger expertly created the necessary spark for fire. That being done, he rested both elbows against his knees as his right hand moved to extract the cigarette from between his lips. His eyes then steadily went back to Hatake's single visible one, waiting for an answer.

Hatake tried giving the man before him his eye smile, but it kept on twitching. Finally giving up, as casually as possible, he told the Hokage that he should get going then, bid them farewell and left.

Such was Kakashi and Yusuke's first meeting. As a person who summons dog, more than often he had ended up weighing individuals' strengths in order to judge their alpha as a group. Back at the meeting with Yusuke, Yusuke had undeniably presented himself as the alpha. "_Shouldn't you be meeting with your team_," he had said, but it sounded like an order more than anything. His nonchalance gave off the feeling that he could care less, but the way Yusuke looked back at him after lighting the cigarette was an unspoken: _Why are you still here? Go already._ Caught off guard, Kakashi tried to fix it by feigning casual and eye smile, as if he didn't notice the pressure that Yusuke was giving off, but unfortunately failed. With that decided between them for now, Kakashi could only obey the previous order.

That doesn't mean he won't look into Yusuke though. Something about him just feels undecidedly off. Summoning Guruko, his ninken (ninja dog), he asks him to watch Yusuke and report back to him regarding the man's behavior. Even from the start, Guruko told Kakashi that Yusuke smells like danger and has a unique odor that was definitely different from others. Kakashi easily dismissed the second part, naturally assuming Naruto's smell as a jinchūriki stuck with Yusuke since they live together. However, Yusuke himself appeared to an unusual person too, according to the reports.

In the morning, generally, he wakes up, only staying up long enough to cook Naruto some breakfast and sometimes sending him off whenever they have meeting before falling back asleep again. Sometimes he doesn't even bother to wake up for that, and at those time, Naruto would loudly knock on Yusuke's door and declare he was leaving just before doing so to annoy his brother in everything but blood.

After that, his morning would end in two ways. One, Yusuke would wake up at a random time or two, Anko would go up and wake him. Her method would vary from literally breaking into his house and making the victim pay for it to straddling the to-be victim's waist and putting a kunai against his chest and say the longer he continues to stay asleep, the longer the kunai wound would be. On days she doesn't feel creative, she would simply shout up to his bedroom for him to wake up until practically every neighbor was, too, screaming, either for Anko to shut up, or for Yusuke to get up so they wouldn't have to deal with Anko's screaming. Afterwards, Anko would always cheerfully drag Yusuke off, sometimes to a bar to drink with Ibiki (yes, early in the morning), sometimes to the training ground to spar. She does the latter less often nowadays, since Yusuke seems to be getting stronger and she losses more than she wins. "It's getting boring and predicable," Anko had said when Kakashi subtly asked about it.

In the afternoon, Yusuke would usually end up walking aimlessly around the village, greeting people with a carefree smile and asking about their day. Despite looking like a trouble child, it appeared as though everyone adores him. Kakashi wondered how he missed that and wonder even more about if Yusuke was the reason people seems to tolerate Naruto's presence more nowadays. Yusuke wouldn't let anyone badmouth Naruto, easily laughing off and refuting anything anyone said badly regarding Naruto. ("Oi, oi. Where have you heard that? I've been living with Naruto for months and I've never seen/heard anything like that.")

When they don't get the hint, his eyes would get stonier and his lips would be set to a thin line. He would stare silently at the person until silence gradually descends in the surrounding and the only person still speaking would be the person doing the badmouthing. Normally, that person would soon realize s/he was the only person speaking and would shut up. The silence would linger around until Yusuke finally turns to the person closest to him and strikes up a conversation. Then thing would go on normally, but no one would forget that little incident.

The worst, however, was when silence descends and the person would still continue to badmouth, oblivious to the mood. That was when things get bad, and luckily, it had only happened once. Or should he say it was unfortunate it happened at all? Kakashi hadn't been at the scene, but he had heard about it from someone who worked at the bar.

This patron had been drinking a lot even before Yusuke, Anko and Ibiki had entered the scene. The two sides had been blissfully ignorant of each other, as their paths hadn't crossed at all during their stay in the bar. It was only when the patron started crying about the injury of his brother who had raised him that things have gone bad. The injury had completely crippled the brother's shinobi career and now the man couldn't even move from one place to another without a wheelchair. "It's all that Kyuubi's fault!" he had shouted. "Why couldn't he have just died?!"

At that point, some other patrons were trying to pacify the drunken man, knowing that Yusuke was in the vicinity and the conversation would undoubtedly soon go to Naruto. And it did.

The drunken patron then turned to another and said, suddenly calm, "Wasn't there an attack on that jinchūriki at the beginning of October?"

The other patron stuttered out a "yes," painfully aware of the sharp glare Yusuke had focused in their direction and the deadly silence that that had gradually enveloped them.

"Pity that hadn't done him in," the drunken patron muttered. Raising his voice and the jug of beer in his hand, he announced, "But kanpai to whoever did it and hope next time, it would be succ-"

At that point, Yusuke had gotten out of Anko and Ibiki's hold, too enraged to even hold back anymore lest he injuries them. There was a satisfying crunch as Yusuke's fist met the other's face, certain that he had caused more than a broken jaw. The man had flown through the sliding doors and crashed outside. Ibiki then shouted for people to "_Get the man away from him, goddamn it!" _as he stepped forward to restrain Yusuke again, followed by a dozen of other people. All the while, Yusuke snarled like a wild animal: "Let me _go_! I'll fucking teach him a lesson. How _dare _him. LET GO!"

It wasn't until Ibiki got finally fed up and punched Yusuke that he finally calmed. Slumping against the wall, he stayed there for half an hour before he stumbled away without a word. The next day, he went back to the bar and apologized for creating such a mess. He never apologized for almost killing the man.

After that incident, few people dared to speak badly about Naruto. Of course, that didn't really explain why many civilians seem to adore Yusuke and to some extent now, Naruto. Perhaps it started when Naruto kept on playing pranks on everyone and anyone, his pranks which seems to get more and more outrageous as time passed. For every aftermath of a prank, ever since Yusuke became Naruto's guardian, Yusuke would go, apologize with a laugh and then leave with Naruto. It had taken the fifth time that had happened for anyone to realize that Naruto never had to clean up the mess since Yusuke always pulled him away before he could be compelled to do so. It had taken the sixth prank for someone to spot Yusuke _and _Naruto pulling a prank in the middle of the night.

At first, people were outraged by the revelation: How dare do little brats make a fool of us? But of course, after the initial reaction, people found it extremely funny, especially the way Yusuke and Naruto's face paled after someone confronted them about it, the way both of them would simultaneously turned to run, the same sheepish look they would give when they find themselves surrounded and unable to escape, the way their heads would go down, a dark gloom floating above their head. Sometimes they would try the puppy look and more than often, it wouldn't work, which caused even more good-natured amusement. Now that everything was out, Yusuke no longer bothered portraying himself as a good, responsible brother and proved himself to be just as playful as Naruto.

The two had this natural charisma that attracts others to them. The people just didn't notice Naruto's since they always only saw him as the jinchūriki, someone who house the demon that killed their loved ones, and nothing else. When Yusuke appeared, his natural charisma caused people to look his way and since he was always with Naruto, people also ended up looking Naruto's way, too, and end up seeing Naruto for more than just the jinchūriki. They saw him as a child who loves to smile and shines as brightly as the sun when he does. Just like that, little by little, Yusuke and Naruto started changing people's outlook and won lots of people's hearts over. Yusuke, naturally sociable once someone gets over his rather gangster looks and attitude, allows himself to get drawn into random talks in the afternoon, which deepens the feeling. That usually takes up most of his days.

Strangely enough, Yusuke also seems to interact with people who should have no connection with him, like Shikamaru. Whenever they meet up, they would always end up playing a few rounds of Shogi. What's more strange, however, is that according to Guruko, Yusuke seems to have two playing style. In one game he would charge straight ahead, always losing to Shikamaru without an exception, although sometime he would show moves that surprises Shikamaru. In another, the moves would be extremely calculating and analytical. It was almost as though another person was playing.

Something Guruko wouldn't know:

The first time Yusuke had showed this hand to Shikamaru, he had asked, "Can you keep a secret?" Then without waiting for an answer, he began the game and in a different way that Yusuke-san would normally start. Shikamaru had responded just to see what Yusuke-san was driving at, but he hadn't expect the completely different style. That game, Shikamaru had lost.

Shikamaru didn't understand how one person could have two distinct styles. He knew that Yusuke-san hadn't been holding back, since he wasn't the kind to do so, but how… Moreover, why show him now, especially when Yusuke-san didn't have any intention of answering his question. Before Shikamaru could say anything, Yusuke-san said: "Have you heard of Hikaru no Go?" Then he stood, giving him one more backward glance and left.

A little research told him Hikaru no Go was a TV anime. The protagonist is a boy name Hikaru who got possessed by a ghost named Sai. Sai was a great Go player and had influenced Hikaru to learn Go. Sai's style was old, yet effective while Hikiaru's was unconventional, but surprisingly effective just like his mentor's…

If Hikaru was Yusuke-san and Sai was the owner of Yusuke-san's second style, then was the owner a ghost? Or was that Yusuke-san's way of telling him he won't get any information regarding that person? As mysterious and inaccessible as a ghost…

Yusuke-san came knocking on their door the next day, early in the morning. Shikamaru's mother was the one who answered, as the rest of the male family members were all asleep, too lazy to get up. He asked if he could play a game with Shikamaru, so his mother went to wake him up. Shikamaru then knew there was a decision he had to make. He could ask his mother to tell Yusuke-san 'Next time,' which ironically equate to the opposite. Yusuke-san wouldn't come around asking for a game of Shogi anymore if he does that, the 'Next time' basically meaning 'Let's forget you have ever showed me that style.' Or, he could go downstairs and play a game with Yusuke-san, and when he uses that other style, Shikamaru would act as if that is all normal and wouldn't even twitch an eyelid. That would show that he accepts these distinct playing styles without any questions.

In the end, while muttering "Troublesome" under his breath, he dragged himself downstairs. He had to admit that Yusuke-san was a formidable opponent when he uses that other style. Plus, he never got revenge for the time that he lost to it.

In truth, the other style was Kurama's. Kurama had taught Yusuke how to play Shogi and when Kurama mentioned he was getting bored watching Naruto do D-class missions, Yusuke suggested playing Shogi against each other. They simply picture the board and send that image to each other via the link Hiei made. Whenever someone moves his piece, he would adjust the previous picture in his mind before sending that over.

Yusuke knew he wasn't good enough of a player for Kurama to relieve his boredom, so after a while, when he recalled Shikamaru was a genius and he, too, play Shogi, Yusuke decided to make Kurama and Shikamaru play against each other. That was quite risky, however, and he knew Kurama would never approve, so he had set up a game for Kurama without telling him.

On the day Yusuke asked Shikamaru: "_Can you keep a secret?"_ he was beginning a game with Kurama. Kurama had start, and Yusuke relayed Kurama's moves onto the board between him and Shikamaru. Whenever Shikamaru make a move, Yusuke would picture the board before him in his mind and send it over to Kurama. Indirectly, without either of the players realizing until they saw the distinct style, Kurama and Shikamaru played a game. Kurama wanted to stop when he had realized, but his pride didn't allow him to stop a game that he knew would be great. So both sides continued and Kurama won at the end.

Yusuke had barely managed to get out, "_Have you heard of Hikaru no Go?" _before Kurama started yelling at him and he had to leave before making a fool of himself. After telling Kurama that he trusts Shikamaru and knew he wouldn't go around telling people about his two playing style, Kurama calmed down slightly. Besides, having two playing style doesn't imply anything at all. At most, with his question_ Have you heard of Hikaru no Go?_ would make Shikamaru think Kurama is a ghost and Yusuke is possessed or something. At the thought of that, Kurama let out a slight chuckle and Yusuke knew he wasn't angry anymore. He knew Kurama trusts his judgment, even though it may seem flawed initially.

So, in the end, it was unspoken that Kurama got an opponent to play Shogi against and Shikamaru wouldn't mention the other style which Yusuke possesses. Of course, it also went unspoken that Yusuke would have to play messenger for Kurama with Shikamaru once again.

Sometimes, Choji would go over to Shikamaru's and he would watch them play. One time, he had commented on how strange Yusuke-san's playing style is, but didn't say anything else; Yusuke easily drawn Choji onto another conversation by saying, "If Shikamaru loses this round, he could treat us to some barbeque." Then from there, conversation about food flowed easily between Yusuke and Choji, with Shikamaru occasionally speaking up.

There was this time when Yusuke had bumped into Kiba and had cheerfully greeted him. Akamaru, on the other hand, shrunk away from Yusuke. Guruko surmised that it must be hard for the young one to be faced with the great danger that their nose tells them Yusuke was. With a little coaxing from Kiba, Akamaru came out of Kiba's hood long enough to bark a greeting. In return, Yusuke threw Akamaru a friendly grin.

Guruko also heard Kiba asking Yusuke-san to not pull a prank around the Inuzuka compound next time, because the loud barking and howling that resulted when their dogs caught the whiff of Yusuke and Naruto's scent far surpassed that time's prank. Yusuke jokingly replied, _"Don't think you are prank proof now,"_ before agreeing. Before leaving, he also laughingly added: _"Unless the prank is to wake everyone in the vicinity at an ungodly hour, of course." _

Guruko found it strange how easily Yusuke and the aforementioned clan heirs got along, despite their age gap. How did they meet, anyway? The key to Guruko's question lies in the fact that the three other clan heirs often skip class with Naruto. Yusuke had caught Naruto in act on one occasion.

"Skipping already?" Yusuke had asked, arching his eyebrows at Naruto.

"I went yesterday!" Naruto protested, recalling his agreement with Yusuke-nii. At Yusuke's steady stare, he weakly added, "I'll go tomorrow and on Friday."

"Good enough, I guess," Yusuke sighed. "So where are you guys going?"

"You're not coming with us, are you?" Kiba asked, making a face.

"And if I am?" Yusuke challenged with a cocky grin.

Before Kiba could make a scene, Shikamaru spoke up. "It's fine, isn't it? With an adult here, it makes us seem more legit anyway."

Standing beside Shikamaru, Choji nodded in agreement.

So with one last glare from Kiba, the boys headed to the empty field where they usually hang out. They stayed there for a while, but none of them was able to relax with Yusuke staring at them without a word. Finally Yusuke spoke up, "You guys don't do much here, do you?"

"Nii-san!" Naruto shouted at the same time Kiba stood and growled, "If you don't want to be here, then _leave_!"

Adopting Anko's tone of voice, Yusuke replied, "Don't wanna."

Knowing a challenge when he hears one, Kiba attacked. Yusuke easily danced away from Kiba, laughing as he did so. The others watched for a few minutes, unsure what to do while knowing Kiba wouldn't be easily pacified.

"Oi," Yusuke shouted after a short while. "Aren't you guys going to help him?"

When they continue to hesitate, Yusuke added, "I'll treat you guys some dango if you manage to touch me once before all of you fall to the ground."

At that promise, Naruto, too, charged, while announcing that he would rather have ramen.

"There's nothing wrong with dango," Choji protested even as he joined the fray, having the need to defend any type of food.

Tuning out their talks, Yusuke hummed thoughtfully as he dodged the haphazard attacks.

"What about you, pineapple?" Yusuke asked, glancing in Shikamaru's direction. The others stopped momentarily, Naruto and Kiba laughing aloud at the nickname while Choji kindly hid a grin. All of them stared and waited for a reply.

Shikamaru glanced at them for a second. "Troublesome," he muttered under his breath, before looking back up at the carefree clouds floating about in the sky.

"Shikamaru!" Naruto shouted. "You're not sitting out on this one, are you?"

"C'mon!" Kiba urged. "Free food, man."

Shikamaru spared another look at them as he sighed, his eyes eventually drifting to his best friend. Choji stood there, not speaking and simply letting Shikamaru decide. His eyes, however, shone brightly at the prospect of having all the food he could eat for free.

Shikamaru groaned, eyeing the peaceful clouds wistfully again and back at the eager group. Then he looked at Yusuke-san, who gave him a friendly smile with a hint of challenge hidden beneath. With another forlorn glance at the clouds, he lazily pushed himself up. The group cheered.

Thirty minutes later, the boys laid on the grass, panting after their physical exertion.

"Giving up already?" Yusuke asked casually as he stared down at the boys. Akamaru let out a low bark at that, but nothing else.

Yusuke blinked at the otherwise lack of answer. "Well, I guess you guys _are _really tired, after all."

Kiba rolled his eyes. Yusuke ignored it. "Here," he said, gesturing a brown bag towards them, "you guys deserve it."

"We didn't win," Shikamaru stated with obvious effort, still trying to catch his breath.

Yusuke shrugged. "I never said I _wouldn't_ give you dango if you lose." After a moment, he added mischievously, "I didn't expect you guys to win anyway."

"Hey!" Kiba protested, suddenly sitting upright. He managed to stay there for a total of three seconds before falling back down with a groan.

Yusuke laughed as he bent down, taking a stick of dango out of the bag as he did so. "Oi, what are you guys waiting for? Dig in." He took a bite out of his own dango.

"Too tired, nii-san," Naruto moaned.

Yusuke gave him a thoughtful look before a light bulb seem to literally pop into existence above his head. "Ah, you guys want me to feed you, don't you? Okay, say ahh-!"

The boys immediately rolled away, all of them sitting up a moment later. "No, thank you."

"Pity," Yusuke said. "Here." He shoved a stick of dango in each of the boys face.

There was a brief pause, before: "Thanks."

After that, Yusuke would sometimes appear when they cut class to play that game with them again. He didn't always buy them food though.

Anyway, there was only so much information Guruko could obtain through stalking, and these were some things that he wouldn't know. After following Yusuke for a while, Guruko went and reported back to Kakashi.

The day after Naruto managed to get Team 7 a C-rank mission, Yusuke popped by Kakashi's. "We need to have a talk," he said in greeting and the rundown of their conversation was basically Yusuke threatened Kakashi to take care of Naruto.

Kakashi randomly commented that he must be fair to all of his student and not just look out for one, which Yusuke listened to without saying anything. After Kakashi stopped talking, Yusuke simply nodded to himself, patted Kakashi's shoulder, squeezed unnecessarily hard, told Kakashi he was counting on him with a smile on his face and then left.

Kakashi did the same thing as before when the Demon Brothers attacked Team 7 during the C-rank mission: He faked his own death. After Tazuna gave them the truth about the mission and the team decided to continue (Naruto never got poisoned because he was stronger), Kakashi recalled Yusuke's threat. Even as his pride roared against his decision, he summoned Pakkun and had him run back to Konoha with a request for back up. He just might need it.

Unknown to Kakashi, Kurama had sent Yusuke a message about the danger of the mission via their link, since they weren't far apart enough for it not to work yet. Yusuke coincidently decided to pay Jiji a random visit and it just happened that three minutes into some random talk, Pakkun arrived with the request for backup. Seeing that Yusuke was free anyway, the Hokage sent Yusuke to help Team 7. With some directions from Kurama, Yusuke met up with Team 7 just before they got on the boat to Land of Waves.

On the boat, they got plenty of time to introduce each other. Tazuna and Sasuke only saw Yusuke's carefree attitude and decided he wasn't going to be much help, Sakura was polite but didn't speak much with him, Naruto was delighted, and Kakashi cursed whoever planned this (because he was certain this was no coincidence).

When Naruto almost killed a white rabbit on the way to Tazuna's house, Yusuke grinned and jestingly suggested having rabbit soup for dinner even as Kurama warned him to be cautious, since the color of the fur is wrong for the season. A moment later, Kakashi shouted for the group to duck.

As Kakashi identified their opponent as Zabuza Momochi, he ordered the rest of the team to stand down. Yusuke, however, audibly disagree, stating that how was the kids suppose to learn if he shield them from everything?

This paused Kakashi, who was in the middle of reveling his Sharingan. He turned and gave Yusuke a sharp look. "Do you not care for their safety? Were you not the one who threatened me to keep Naruto safe?" Kakashi asked calmly, despite being enraged by the fact that Yusuke seems to be telling him to pit the genins against a trained ANBU who was so vicious to be known as "Demon of the Hidden Mist" among the shinobi.

Yusuke returned the look with one of his own as he crossed his arms. "How will they get stronger then?"

Before Kakashi could snap back a reply, Zabuza let out a laugh. "To think that I had once believed Konoha was as rumored, the safest and kindest village of all. Konoha is not so different from Kirigakure, after all."

Yusuke frowned. "Dude, I don't get what you are trying to say, but I've grown up that way."

"You've grown up being pitted against opponents out of your league," Kakashi deadpanned.

"Yeah, why?" Yusuke asked in confusion as he recalled the times he had fought demons when he was still the Spirit Detective. Kurama, understanding Yusuke's confusion and the point the other shinobi was trying to make, clarified it to Yusuke.

As understanding dawned, Yusuke rolled his eyes and spoke. "Yeah, I'm saying the brats should fight, to get firsthand experience and all. And yes, I know it is dangerous, but that's what we're here for right?" His eyes clashed with Kakashi's single one as he said: "To make sure the brats wouldn't get killed."

Kakashi stared at Yusuke for a few seconds, weighing the odds even as truth rang in Yusuke's words. "Alright," he finally spoke. "Team 7, fight with me. Remember the bell training and work together. This would test your teamwork. Yusuke-san there can watch our back."

"Yusuke-san?" Yusuke echoed, but was ignored in favor of Zabuza.

"You're done discussing?" Zabuza swung his sword over his back. "Let's fight then." Like that, he disappeared using Hiding in Mist Jutsu and the battle begun.

The battle wasn't as difficult as the canon, as Yusuke's presence helped greatly (Kakashi didn't get trapped in the water prison as long; no one has been injured as badly, etc). However, it also proved that the Chinese proverb (more people equals a bigger mess) to be true. Kakashi and Yusuke kept getting into each other's way when they fight since they were unable to coordinate their attacks (ex. Kakashi accidentally blasted Yusuke with his Water Dragon Blast no Jutsu when Yusuke suddenly jumped in to help). Finally, they came up with the arrangement for Yusuke to step back and protect Tazuna. At the same time, he would watch Team 7 fight and interfere whenever it appears that one of them have a problem.

Yusuke wasn't happy about that, but he had to give in when Kakashi pointed out that wasn't it he who said that the students need fighting experience. Kakashi also added that this _was_ Team 7's mission, which had Yusuke sulking for a while since he interpreted that as _this is none of your business. Bugger off_.

As Kakashi went for the finish blow, senbons suddenly struck through Zabuza's neck. Identifying himself as the hunter-nin sent to kill Zabuza, Haku jumped off the tree to recover Zabuza's body.

"Hunter-nin?" Yusuke asked as Haku stood with the body.

Thinking that Yusuke doesn't know what a hunter-nin is, Kakashi made a move to explain what they are, only to stop when he realized that _shouldn't he destroy the body on the spot?_

At the same time, recalling the definition of hunter-nin and _senbons usually aren't fatal, are they? Anko managed to pound at least that much in my head,_ Yusuke raised a hand.

Realizing his cover was blown, Haku quickly left in a swirl of wind, but not before Yusuke's small burst of Spirit Gun skimmed his left shoulder.

Knowing that Kakashi used up most of his reserve ( but not enough to pass out) and the rest of the team are tired and weak, they decided not to give a chase. It was also because they don't know if Zabuza have someone else like Haku to pop up and attack them when the team split up nor do they know how far Haku was going. If their base was only a short distance and they have more people there and the team goes there together while not in full health, it would be dangerous. Most of all, their mission was to protect Tazuna. There was a fifty percent chance for Zabuza to drop his mission after witnessing their strength because it was not worth the price. Gato sounds like a greedy bastard, so it was unlikely that he would raise the price for Zabuza to eliminate Tazuna either.

So like that, the team headed to Tazuna's house and the team started training to Tree Climb. (On the second day of returning all battered up from training, Naruto had to deal with Inari's pessimistic attitude.) Yusuke didn't bother giving them advice, stating that young people should figure it out for themselves. He himself then spent the rest of the time at Land of Waves helping the people build the bridge, speeding up their process even more by Mass Shadow Cloning himself. As Sakura exclaimed in amazement, Naruto, wanting his Sakura-chan to acknowledge him, too, Massed Shadow Cloned himself. The Yusuke clones then promptly went ahead and dispersed all of the Naruto clones.

Naruto demanded why Yusuke did that, and Yusuke replied that he would need all those chakra he had distributed to the clones when training.

"No I don't!" Naruto shouted back, feeling insulted, and petulantly creating a dozen more clones. Yusuke, feeling equally exasperated, once again popped all of the clones, but this time, leaving two behind. (When someone creates clones, each of them will have an equal amount of chakra as the original and each other. So when Naruto created twelve clones all at once, Naruto himself would only have 1/12 of his total reserve, not counting Kurama's energy. Since Yusuke popped all but two of the clones, Naruto currently has 10/12 of his reserve.)

"These two can stay behind," Yusuke said, his tone final. Then he suddenly grinned. "Let's see if you can complete the training without all your chakra."

"I bet I can!" Naruto shouted, eyes darting briefly to Sakura-chan, who was there the whole time they had their argument. Naruto felt his face burn at the thought and quickly turned around, running back to the training ground before anyone could see it.

At the training ground, Naruto tried walking up the tree just as his sensei had shown them three days ago, but failed each time. Just as he was about to try again, he spotted a girl with a basket in 'her' hand. Curious, he went over and spoke with 'her.' After introducing themselves, they discussed their dreams with each other as Naruto helped Haku gathered some herbs. Just when 'she' was about to leave, Naruto asked if Haku was ok because it seemed like 'she' was favoring 'her' right side more. At the same time, Sasuke, who was training in the same area, walked over and heard what Naruto had said. Recalling that Yusuke-san had injured the fake hunter-nin's left shoulder combined with Naruto's statement left Sasuke convinced that the 'girl' before them was the same hunter-nin that had helped Zabuza escape. Haku knew that Sasuke knew as he watched realization bloom in the Sasuke's eyes.

Sensing danger, Haku instinctively dodged the kunai that Sasuke had thrown towards him, inadvertently proved Sasuke's suspicion. Knowing that he can't let the two boys go now, Haku summoned his Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals, trapping them inside and thus killing any chance for them to run for help.

At the same time, Gato had arrived on the nearly completed bridge with a huge force.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" One of the Yusuke clones shouted upon seeing him.

Gato looked over at the sea of people waiting for an answer and like a typical villain, he explained.

He had not anticipated Yusuke and Kakashi (and their clones)'s help with the bridge, which speed up the building process by a lot. Knowing that Zabuza (who had demanded extra pay since the job was more difficult than anticipated) was still weak and there was no time to waste, lest the builders actually complete the bridge, he had decided to take things into his own hands. He would have the people he hired destroy the bridge and the builders. Then, he would kill Zabuza while he was still weak and the little protégé of his with sheer number.

"Go back," a brave builder shouted after Gato spilled his atrocious plan. "You can't win against us with numbers." He gestured around them. "Our number far surpasses your people."

At those words, Gato laughed. "Don't bluff. A few people that I hired know about shinobi and their techniques. We can all see that half of the workers here have the same face, so they are obviously clones. They will die with one punch/slash."

Behind Gato, the hired thugs punched their fists against their palms or slash their sword through the air in demonstration, a cruel smirk appear on each and every one of their face.

"Besides," Gato continued, enjoying killing the constructors' hopes. "How many of you can fight?"

In other words, in reality, Gato's huge force far surpassed the actual number of people that was on the bridge. And they are stronger than most of the people on the constructor's side too.

Most being the key word here.

Back to Haku, he struggled to decide whether to simply knock them unconscious or injure the two badly so they wouldn't be able to fight when Zabuza-san recover and go after the bridge builder again. (Gato had promised Zabuza extra money (before Gato himself found out the bridge was almost complete) since he was planning to double cross them when they finish the job anyway.)

Haku randomly threw senbons at the pair to buy time for himself to decide, simultaneously forcing Sasuke to go defensive so Haku himself wouldn't be attacked. Naruto, on the other hand, was too shocked by the turn of event to do anything else. Just minutes ago, he was talking with Haku about their dreams, thus forming a sense of fellowship between them. Now they are fighting to death? Naruto couldn't accept it, much less than raise his hands with the intent to kill against someone he view as friend. So when a dozen of senbons came at him, Naruto couldn't move.

"Move, you idiot!" Sasuke shouted, somehow sensing the danger and pushed Naruto out of the way of the senbons.

Haku, momentarily surprised that Sasuke had managed to dodge, stopped his attack, giving Sasuke the chance to do something he had been waiting to do. He punched Naruto. "Snap out of it, moron! What the fuck are you doing?"

"She… "Naruto began, but was interrupted.

"I don't care," Sasuke snarled. "I don't know what's up with you or her or why you two were together, but right now, _she is trying to kill us_. Are you going to let her?! Are you going to die before becoming the Hokage?!"

At the mention of Hokage, Naruto remembered his discussion with Haku. Haku wanted to protect the person most precious to him. (S)he had also explained that, when one was protecting a precious person, one's strength reached its maximum. Naruto had agreed with what Haku had said.

Haku…Haku was fighting right now to protect her(his) important person. What _was_ Naruto doing? Does his precious people and dream mean so little to him?

"No." Naruto stood, forming signs of a jutsu. A dozen other Naruto appeared beside him. "I'm sorry, but I can't allow you to destroy my precious people or dream. Sasuke..."

"I don't want to hear your sob story," Sasuke said, before Naruto could say something embarrassing. "Just fight with me. "

Naruto grinned. "Alright."

"It's no use," Haku said. "Just now, it was luck. The need to protect someone, you could say. You won't be able to dodge again."

And unfortunately, it was true, up until Sasuke's bloodline awakened and he was able to use Sharingan. Haku then realized that knocking them out and then leaving was no longer an option. He took too long to decide and the Uchiha had gotten used to his movement. If he doesn't disable the boys so they would take weeks to recover, then when the time comes for Zabuza-san and Haku himself to confront the group, Haku may actually lose, which won't help to Zabuza-san at all.

_It's for Zabuza-san,_ Haku convinced the part of him that didn't want to hurt the boys.

Seeing that Naruto, who had tired himself by practicing Tree Climbing, was weakening, Haku went after him. Too weaken to dodge, Naruto could only stare in horror as the barrage of senbons came towards him once again… Only to be blocked by Sasuke.

"Why?" Naruto asked, staring at the severely injured Uchiha.

Sasuke glanced over at him. "I don't know. How did I save you before when I couldn't even see the attacks? Why did I save you now…?" Sasuke's eyelids slowly fell. "Who knows… My body… it moved on its own." A weak laugh escaped his lips as his legs began to collapse beneath him. "And here I promised not to die before killing Itachi…"

"Sasuke? Hey, answer me." Naruto weakly shook Sasuke's body. "If this is a joke, it's a really bad one."

There was no reply.

"Wake up," Naruto ordered, his voice shaking, yet growing louder. "Wake UP, YOU BASTARD!"

There was no reply.

"Goddamn it!" Naruto shouted, anger suddenly building up within him. "Why the fuck did you tell me about Itachi anyway!? Want me to kill him for you!? I'm SORRY, BUT I DON'T WANT TO HEAR YOUR SOB STORY. KILL HIM YOURSELF, YOU FUCKING BASTARD!"

A crack appeared on Naruto's side of the seal. By now, red chakra was swirling angrily around Naruto and his previous wounds were slowly healing. The transformed Naruto carefully placed Sasuke down.

"It's you," Naruto growled lowly, directing his red eyes at Haku even as Kurama shouted for Naruto to stop, that Sasuke was not dead. Naruto couldn't hear any of it in his enraged state. "You killed Sasuke… **I'll kill you**."

The following battle couldn't be considered as a battle. It was an absolute slaughter.

Just as transformed Naruto was about to deliver the killing blow, Kurama, not wanting Naruto to regret it later when he returned back to normal, _tugged _back as much of the malice energy that was affecting Naruto as he could, enabling Naruto to return back to normal.

A second before Naruto returned back to normal, elsewhere, two Naruto shadow clones 'died' nobly protecting Sakura-chan. Their memories returned to the original Naruto a second _after_ he returned to his normal form.

As a result, mere inches away from Haku's face, Naruto stopped his attack as he returned back to normal, the word "_Gato?"_ leaving his lips.

Haku blinked, recalling the vile bastard. "What about Gato?" he had asked, suddenly feeling worried about leaving Zabuza-san alone when he was weaken and Gato had appeared to wish him harm the day before. (Chapter 18, when Gato paid them a visit. Haku is a little overprotective sometimes)

Naruto weakly punched Haku, shouting, "Shut up! You killed Sasuke…"

"Sasuke's not dead," Kurama said, his voice finally able to get to Naruto now that he calmed.

"Sasuke's…not dead…?" Naruto asked, not even asking about this voice as he was too hung on to that hope.

"How…?" Haku stopped. That wasn't important right now. "Yes, Sasuke's not dead. I just placed him into a death-like state, just like I did with Zabuza-san. Now, _please_, tell me, what about Gato?"

So Naruto told him everything that Gato had said. "My shadow clones just popped now," Naruto said, explaining the source of his information. "They transferred the memory of what they heard over to me."

"That's not good." Haku made an attempt to stand… "I need to warn Zabuza-sa-"

…only to almost immediately fall back down, battered by up transformed Naruto.

"Hey, calm down," Naruto exclaimed, trying to steady Haku to a sit. "I saw the situation there. Yusuke-nii and Kakashi-sensei are totally beating up the bad guys."

"Then why did your clones disperse," Haku demanded.

Naruto laughed sheepishly. "Well, my Shadow Clone #1 saw this guy behind Sakura-chan so he/I reached over to punch him, only to fall on top of Sakura-chan afterwards since his/my arms weren't long enough. My other Shadow Clone beat the guy up while #1 was down, but then Sakura-chan screamed pervert and punched #1. Then she punched the other one, so both of then popped and I got back the memory."

Haku blinked and then laughed freely, only to be compelled to stifle it since his wounds hurt him when he laughed. He was still wiping amused tears away from his eyes by the time he was done though. "I see," he finally said.

Naruto grinned. "Want me to send a shadow clone over so I could see the situation?" Naruto offered. Before Haku could accept, Yusuke appeared in front of them.

"There you ar-" Yusuke interrupted himself upon witnessing the scene before him. He turned to Naruto. "I guess everything is fine now," he said, choosing to leave everything for later.

Before Naruto could answer yes, he was interrupted.

"What happened?" someone growled.

Everyone turned and…

"Zabuza-san!" Haku exclaimed making a move to get up and promptly fell back down. "You're still injured!"

Zabuza's eyes went from glaring at Yusuke (the only one able to injure Haku, in his opinion) to something considerably softer when his eyes landed on Haku. "You were late," he muttered gruffly. Able to read the situation just as Yusuke could, he knew the conflict between them was somehow resolved during the time he was recovering from his injuries.

As the two spoke, Yusuke created three shadow clones. Zabuza immediately looked up in suspicion, which caused Yusuke to roll his eyes as he gestured the clones to pick up Sasuke and the protesting Naruto. The third shadow clone scooped Haku up as well, which caused Zabuza to growl.

"Chill, geez," Yusuke muttered. "I'm just bringing them back so we could look at those injuries. I didn't want to jar and reopen any wounds by sacking them up on my shoulder and you saw that pretty boy couldn't walk. You don't want him to die of infection or something, do you?"

"Haku," Zabuza corrected grudgingly, admitting that Yusuke have a point. There was the question of trusting them, but they don't have much choice now. If the worst come the worst, Zabuza and Haku would fight their way out _after_ Yusuke's people treat their wounds.

Yusuke made a move to turn around so he could follow his shadow clones, who were all heading back to Tazuna's home. "Alright, let's g-"

"One question," Zabuza said, gaze clashing head on with Yusuke's. "Gato planned to double-cross us?"

Yusuke nodded affirmative.

"Where is he now?" Zabuza asked. Yusuke looked, like really _looked_, at Zabuza after he said that, hearing this familiar tone, but not of this world, in his voice.

"Down below in hell," Yusuke answered, the same tone that was so familiar in Demon World coloring his every word.

Then, in unison, the two suddenly grinned, grinning a grin that was once again, _not of the Human World._

By the next day, everyone explained their side of the story, the bridge was completed, everyone learned that Haku was a guy, Naruto realized the voice was Kurama, Inari's outlook was changed, Sasuke and Naruto completed their training, and the bridge was named The _ Bridge.

Yusuke also asked Tazuna not to tell anyone that Zabuza and Haku had once worked for Gato and that they were hired to kill Tazuna. Despite not quite understanding why, Tazuna complied, saying that if Team 7 and Yusuke's wish, then he won't tell anyone since Tazuna himself hadn't actually gotten hurt because they protected him so well.

With a smile that spoke of his thankfulness even as he said the words himself, Yusuke stood.

"But Yusuke," Tazuna said as he was about to leave the room. Yusuke glanced back questioningly. "Why help them?"

"Because they deserve a second chance, just like everyone else."

xxx

"So what are you guys going to do now?" Yusuke asked, settling between Zabuza and Haku's futons.

"We'll continue being mercenaries," Zabuza answered after a moment of silence. Yusuke glanced over at Haku, who nodded in affirmative. Yusuke sighed.

"Then what about the Demon Brothers," he queried.

Zabuza's eyes flickered up to Yusuke, answering a question with a question since he refused to show that he cared. "What about them?"

Yusuke pouted, causing Zabuza to look at him like he was crazy_._ Haku sniffled a laugh.

"So stubborn, man. Alright, since you apparently don't give a damn," Yusuke stressed the last few words, simultaneously rolling his eyes to show to that he didn't believe a word of that. "Konoha had them in custody. They are sending them over as we speak."

"Oh," was all Zabuza said, although he was obviously demanding an explanation.

Yusuke sighed, and seemed to be debating whether to just leave with that or no.

"Yusuke-san, please explain," Haku spoke up. "What do you mean?"

"I meant what I said. The Demon Brothers would probably arrive tomorrow or the day after, no guards. I wrote a letter to the Hokage, requesting him to release them, and sent it over with our mission report. Ibiki inte- questioned," he corrected, since interrogate sounds too harsh and Ibiki has an infamous reputation in that field. "Ibiki questioned them beforehand, just in case. I sent another letter after the Hokage told me he'll let them go, to explain the situation to the Brothers."

"What do you want, Yusuke? You wouldn't have gone through all that trouble without wanting something in return," Zabuza said.

"Harsh. It _was_ out of the goodness of my heart," Yusuke paused before Zabuza could call him out on his lie. "Or so I want to say, anyway." Yusuke let out a loud breath. "How about you guys don't take any missions that would harm Konoha or any of its people when you go back to being mercenaries?"

"I'm not asking you guys to actively avoid Konoha shinobi or anything," Yusuke hurriedly added before Haku or Zabuza could speak. "Just don't go looking for trouble with them or knowingly put yourselves into a situation where Konoha is your opponent. If, I'm saying if, you guys do manage to cross path despite your effort and you two really need to fight it out, then go ahead."

"That's awfully generous of you," Zabuza finally spoke. "To begin with, how would you know if we would do as you say?"

"Ask," Yusuke corrected, finally relaxing now he got that out. He lit a cigarette and inhaled. "All I'm doing is asking. There is no assurance that you guys will do as I ask." Yusuke exhaled. "I could only trust your word on it."

"If we don't give our word…?"

"Then nothing. The Demon Brothers are coming here one way or another. You guys could leave whenever you want to. Nothing is bounding you here or to me." Yusuke smiled. "That's how my village does things."

"Your village?"

"Well, village is a little too specific to describe us, but yeah, my village. I'm not wearing any forehead protector, see? None of us wears one."

"Then how do you identify your comrades from enemies?" Haku asked, intrigued by this village of Yusuke-san.

"Ah, how should I explain this? Uh...Let's compare my village to here. We don't get sent on missions- We provide for ourselves," Yusuke explained when he saw Haku getting more and more confused. "So generally, we do what we want. You could say we are just people living in the same area. Everyone is just neutral towards each other to begin with. If someone attacks us, they are obviously the enemy, but only temporarily, unless they hold a grudge, since fights are really common from where I come from. Most of us there believe in one-on-one. Comrades are those who you know. Your friends, basically. Other people are just side characters, people that are there, but don't mind. We mind our own business, and sometimes our friends', if they want us to, and other people will mind theirs. That's all to it."

"But wouldn't that be absolute chaos, with no one there to rule?" Haku asked. Even Zabuza seemed to be interested.

"Oh, there is someone ruling. Every four years, we would hold a competition for the 'throne,' so to speak. Anyone could join. There are no restrictions. There will be preliminary rounds where they simply throw a huge group of people together and have them fight it out and the last one standing would end up being the winner. Each group's winner would then have a one-on-one fight and battle it out. Last one left is the ruler of our village, until the next competition is held. Although the term 'ruler' is too specific. He or she just lay out one or two ground rules the people have to follow, and the rest is self-governing."

"And if the ruler is tyrannical?"

Yusuke moved his neck from side to side and cracked his knuckles. "Then we'll kick him off the throne. It happened once. But the thing is, being a ruler is just in name. It tells everyone that that guy is the strongest individual there is. I told you how fights are really common, right? We respect strong people, and it is this respect for that individual that allows the ruler to be a ruler. But that respect only extends so far. If s/he mind too much of our business, we'll mind hers/his."

"I doubt it is as simple as you say." Zabuza spoke from personal experience.

Yusuke shrugged easily. "Like I said, our village isn't really a village. It's a free place, where everyone does whatever they like, if they have the power to. Since the son-of-a-bitch ruler pissed everyone off with by trafficking drugs first then actual people, it wasn't hard finding people who were willing to kick him off."

"What happened then?" Haku asked, wanting to hear the ending, since they too attempted a coup d'état, only that Yusuke's was successful while theirs was not.

"I was chosen to be the ruler, since I lead a division during the civil war and my personality, according to them, 'fits the bill of a good leader.' It sounds nice and all, but then I had to take care of the mess that bastard of a ruler created. Went and personally tear down all the trafficking areas. My friends and some volunteers helped me with it. Then I announced that there would be no trafficking for as long as I live, but I kinda didn't have to announce it by then. Almost everyone was affected by the trafficking, either being a victim themselves or knowing someone who was a victim. After that bastard, I don't think anyone would dare dabble into trafficking for a while."

"How did you deal with those who were in league with the former ruler?"

"We… I captured everyone we know that was on the opposing side and sorted out who joined them because they were compelled to or was ensnared by drugs, and who actually agreed with the sick asshole. Those who were compelled to do so in the sense of, _if we don't, they'll kill us, _we beaten all of them up, let them recover, and then let most of them go. Those who were slaves, depending on their wish/situation, we either send them back to their family, let them go on their own or give them a place to stay. Those who were dependent on drugs, we had doctors and nurses look over them. Since the victims' bodies became dependent on it, the doctors still gave them drugs, but a much smaller portion until little by little, they don't need 'em anymore. Those who did all those evil deed out of their free will… Well, there were an awfully a lot of drugs that were left."

Haku's and even Zabuza's eyes widen as the implication hit them.

"Yeah," Yusuke sighed. "I… I had a friend who was captured before. It was a personal grudge, but I couldn't forgive those who had direct dealing with the slave or drug dealings, even if they were threatened to. They trapped others into a living hell so they could live in semi-safety. I couldn't forgive them, although I let go those who took the risk and became double-agents for us. The others… they were given some drugs on a small scale. A taste of their own medicine, you could say. Then, I gave them the help that was needed to get off the drugs. After their reliance on drug was fixed, we let them go."

"I had no mercy on those who joined the other side willingly though. We gave all of _those_ people a fairly large dose and set them free in a barren area, where a battle was fought during the war. I didn't give them anything else to survive. No food, no clothes, no medical attention for the wounds or the help for the drug problem that we gave them. Nothing. That's not the worst part though. I knew that plenty of people still had a grudge against them, so I deliberately leaked out the day and place of where we were releasing them. A huge mob gathered at the normally barren area, and beaten the prisoners we released to death. No one survived."

There was a long, heavy silence.

"It's late," Yusuke finally said, standing. "I'll let you guys rest now."

"Yusuke-san," Haku called out hurriedly, stopping Yusuke from stepping out the door. "To go to such extent… I think you really love your village."

Yusuke gave him a small smile. "Yeah, I guess. After all, there's where the people I care about are."

The next day, Yusuke was back to his carefree self. When he spotted Zabuza outside swinging his sword, he walked over.

"I'm surprised Haku let you out of your bed, with him being so overprotective," Yusuke said in greeting. Zabuza glanced over at him, and grunted.

"He couldn't stop me. I'm almost completely healed, so staying in bed all day long is no longer necessary."

Yusuke hmmed thoughtfully and watched Zabuza train for a while when an idea pop into his head. "Give me a sec," was all he said before running off. A little later, he came rushing back with a sword in his hand.

"Where did you get that?" Zabuza asked, eyes flickering to the sword.

"Some of Gato's thugs were samurai and they left their swords behind after the epic battle on the bridge."

Zabuza snorted, finally pausing from swinging his sword. "Now what? You're going to fight me with that?"

"Why not?" Yusuke asked. "A friend of mine is a swordsman and he taught me a little. Never got the chance to use it though."

"So now you are testing your so-called-skills against me."

"Exactly. You're not fully healed, so this would be a nice handicap, don't you thin- Whoa!" Yusuke hurriedly brought up his sword to block the one that was aiming at his stomach.

"Don't underestimate me, kid," Zabuza warned with a bloodthirsty grin. "You are a hundred years too early to challenge me as a swordsman."

This was confirmed twenty minutes later when Zabuza's Kubikiribōchō broke Yusuke's unnamed sword in half.

"Great," Yusuke sighed, staring at the other half of the sword in his hand. "Now I understand how Hiei feels when I break his swords."

"The person who taught you swordsmanship?" Zabuza leaned against his sword. At Yusuke's nod, he added, "I would like to fight him some day."

"Too bad. Hiei's a wanderer," Yusuke said as he sat down on the ground. "Hey," Yusuke called to Zabuza as a thought occurred to him, "does this mean you think my skills are okay as a swordsman?"

Zabuza smirked. "You still have a long way to go. I just wish to spar against the person who had managed to teach _you_ some semblance of swordsmanship."

"Hey!" Yusuke protested even as Zabuza threw his head back and laughed.

Later that day, the Demon Brothers arrived. Team 7, returning from fishing all day with Haku and Inari, was surprised to see their former enemies calmly sitting within the home of the person they had formerly attempted to kill, complimenting on their former target's daughter's tea brewing skills. As they stiffly handed Inari's mother their catch, Naruto shouted for someone to explain what was going on. The rest of Team 7, san Kakashi, was inclined to agree.

"This is ridiculous," Sasuke declared as Kakashi finished explaining, his eyes once again going back to the Demon Brothers. Inari and his mother were out doing some last minute shopping since more people arrived, so they could speak freely.

Kakashi shrugged, turning another page of his 'novel.' "It's not my idea. Speak with Yusuke-kun if you really want to complain. I'm only the messenger."

"Where is Yusuke-san?" Sakura asked.

"Did someone call me?" Yusuke queried as he entered the house, his body reeking with sweat. Behind him, Zabuza followed, appearing exhausted, but thoroughly satisfied.

"Zabuza-san," greeted the Demon Brother, both standing the moment they spotted him. Zabuza gave them a brief glance.

"I'll speak with you later," he said, all too aware of the eyes watching them. The Demon Brothers nodded in acknowledgement.

"I'm famished," Yusuke declared. "What's for dinner?"

"Yusuke-san," Sakura said weakly. "Shouldn't we focus on our situation first?"

"What situation?" Yusuke asked, looking around.

"Ma, ma, Yusuke-kun. I didn't peg you as being this dense," Kakashi said, looking over his book. "The release of the brothers."

"Oh that. What about it?" Yusuke questioned. "You want to ask why I did it even though I never met them." The affirmative was unspoken, but loud. "No particular reason, only that we decided to free Zabuza and Haku, and the Demon Brothers are part of their group too. I don't do things half-assed, so I asked the Hokage to free them. "

"But why would the Hokage let people who attempted to harm Konoha's citizens go?" Sasuke demanded, Konoha citizens being Team 7, of course.

"You made it sound like it came without a price," Yusuke grumbled. Everyone imperceptibly leaned forward to hear what the price was. "I had to give up my next three paychecks, you know?"

Everyone fell in shock as Yusuke said the last part. That's _it?_ Was it that easy to ask the Hokage to release some prisoners? Just ask and give him some money? Impossible. [4]

"You guys done with the interrogation yet?" Yusuke asked. "Because I really need a shower."

That night, at dinner, Zabuza announced that they are going to leave tomorrow.

"So soon?" Inari's mother asked even as Tazuna let out a sigh of relief. "Your injuries aren't healed yet," she said, looking at both Zabuza and Haku in concern, her eyes lingering on their bandages.

"Our injuries are only minor. It would heal soon enough. Thank you for your concern," Haku said with a kind smile.

"If you insist..."

Later that night, just about Yusuke was about to sleep, there was a knock at the door. "Zabuza," Yusuke greeted. "What's up?"

"Your village… Where is this village that you spoke of?"

"You guys wanna go?"

Zabuza nodded in reply.

"You do realize practically everything would be foreign, right? You guys would have to start all over, and adapt to a different culture and all."

"Starting over is exactly what we have in mind. We know what we're doing, Yusuke."

"Alright. Just making sure you know what you're getting into. I'll bring you there tomorrow then."

"Wait," Zabuza said, narrowing his eyes at him. "Why can't you just tell me the location?"

"It's not easy," Yusuke said with a sigh. "Look, our village is called Makai, ever heard of it?"

Zabuza shook his head.

"We were somewhat of an isolationist back then, and sealed ourselves away from the rest of the world. Only recently have we unsealed it, but it'll take time for the seal's effects to wear off. Until then, unless you know what you are looking for, you won't find it."

"It makes sense," Zabuza finally admitted.

Yusuke nodded. "I'll even introduce you guys to a few of my friends so you'll settle in easier."

"All right." Zabuza turned to leave.

"Zabuza, one last thing."

"What?"

"Everyone there calls themselves by the term 'demon.'"

And so Yusuke left with Zabuza and co. the next morning, explaining to the rest of the team that Zabuza wants to start a new life and Yusuke knows a few places and some friends that could help him out. With a promise to be back by the Chunin Exam, he set off.

"Kakashi-sensei," Yusuke heard Naruto ask. "Just what is the Chunin Exam?"

As promised, the one week before the Chunin Exam, Yusuke returned with a massive hangover, courtesy of Chu and his daily drinking habits. Zabuza's group settled in an area that was formerly part of Raizen's territory and became fast friends with Shishiwakamaru, who was ruthless in all his battles, but also logical, similar to Zabuza. It didn't help that Shishiwakamaru could also fight with swords.

Before leaving, Yusuke also mentioned they could go to The Forest of Fools, which despite its name, was actually a place where peaceful inhabitants live. "Just in case you get tired of all the fighting," Yusuke said, since it was an unspoken but followed rule that there would be no conflict there. That rule was established and followed before Raizen's time, which made people all more pissed off when they found out that one certain tyrannical ruler was picking people off there.

Once Yusuke arrived back into Konoha, he went to old man Hokage, thanking him for granting his whimsical wish.

"I got Zabuza's group settled in my village. He seemed to have taken a liking to there, so I doubt he would bother Konoha again."

"Your village?" The Hokage asked, taking the bait to get more information about Yusuke.

"Yeah, it's called Makai."

Later on Yusuke spoke with Kurama, and Kurama told him that Naruto had a confrontation with another jinchūriki.

"His name is Gaara," Kurama told him. "And it seems like he host the demon, Shukaku."

Yusuke's eyes narrowed. "The mad guy Touya defeated in the second tournament? He controls…"

"Sand," Kurama answered. "It appears Shukaku had affected young Gaara and had twisted his personality. Gaara appears to be as blood-thirsty as its tenant."

Yusuke sighed. "He's going to be one heck of a kid to look after."

The next day, Yusuke cheerfully waved Naruto off for the Chunin Exam and promptly tried to not think about it afterward. He knew that unfortunately for the kids and Naruto, Ibiki and Anko were chosen to be proctors.

He found it sad, how, after all those times he painstakingly kept Anko away from Naruto, in the end, Naruto was going straight to her. What was that call again? Sheep into the lion's den? Yeah, something like that. Yusuke shook his head at the irony and went on busying himself to pass time.

The first and second part of the exam went off without a hitch and ended with the same results as canon, only that Sasuke never got the cursed sealed.

Kurama managed to convince Naruto to let them switch during the battle with Orochimaru. Naruto didn't want to at first, even when Kurama pointed out how Orochimaru was obviously playing with them. But when Naruto saw Orochimaru attacking Sakura-chan and he was helpless to stop it, he gave in.

Kurama didn't use Kyuubi's malice energy, since Konoha's plants would shrink away from it. Instead, he used his own, gently coaxing them into helping him. Orochimaru had no chance of fighting against a plant master in a forest, especially one with poisonous and deadly plants, and was eventually forced to retreat.

"Please don't question Naruto-kun about this," Kurama requested as he gracefully stood up within Naruto's body. He patted Naruto's hands to brush away the dirt that got on them. "He doesn't know anything about it."

At least my plant abilities, Kurama added in his mind.

Then, without waiting for a reply, Kurama slunk back to the recess of Naruto's mind and allowed Naruto to take over again. It has truly been a long time since he could personally see, touch and feel. Unfortunately, the situation didn't allow him the luxury of enjoying it long. He had protected Naruto and his friends, but at the price of letting out a secret that Naruto may not have wanted others to know. _Patience,_ Kurama told the part of him that didn't want to let Naruto posses back his body._ Just wait a little longer…_

"Pretend you have no idea what happened," Kurama ordered when he saw that Naruto had no idea what to say to the barrage of questions that came forward despite Kurama's request.

"W-what are you talking about?" Naruto eventually managed out. He quickly jumped to his feet. "Where is that long tongue bastard?" Naruto demanded, giving a mock search of their surroundings.

"Dobe," Sasuke called out. "You really don't remember?"

"Remember what?!" Naruto asked, his voice cracking a little at the end.

"The plants!" Sasuke exclaimed. "One minute we were on the verge of dying, the next, you suddenly fell down like a puppet with its string cut. Then you suddenly touched the ground and the plants started going crazy. Plants after plants went after that man like a pack of dogs let loose on a prey and…" Sasuke let out an incredulous laugh. "And they just chased him out. And you, the cause of everything, are telling me that you _don't remember."_

"But I don't!" Naruto shouted, throwing his hands up. Making an exasperated noise, Naruto rubbed the back of hands against his eyes.

It was only when a wave of distress went through Kurama that he realized Naruto wasn't faking. He really was disturbed by this.

"Naruto," Kurama said softly.

"Give me a sec, Kyu-chan," Naruto requested. Kurama obliged, not even having the heart to protest his nickname as usual.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura said, touching Sasuke's arm briefly. "I think Naruto really don't remember."

Sasuke's eyes went from Sakura to Naruto and back to Sakura. The cycle was repeated over again until he finally muttered, "Whatever."

None of them spoke again that night, but in the morning…

"Oi, wake up dobe."

"Sasuke?"

An eyeroll. "Who else would it be?"

"Come on, Naruto. We're setting out. We've already wasted a day, so we have to make up for it," Sakura-chan shouted.

"We'll leave you behind if you don't get going," Sasuke added.

"I…" Naruto regained his energy and jumped up. "I'll leave _you_ behind if you're slow, teme."

Sasuke snorted. "I'd like to see you try."

Half-an-hour ago, elsewhere, Konoha shinobi found three bodies with no faces. Anko went to investigate and returned heavily injured at dawn, reporting that Orochimaru was in Konoha.

"He seemed to have taken an interest in the Uzumaki after a battle, although initially, he was after the Uchiha," Anko gritted out, clutching her shoulder in pain.

"That's enough, Anko. Thank you," the Hokage said. "We'll take care of it. Please rest now. Yusuke…"

"On with it, old man," Yusuke said, lifting Anko bride-style. Anko struggled, mumbling something about stop treating her like a kid. Yusuke looked down at her. "Just rest, Anko."

"It pisses me off," Anko said as she stared down at her own hands. "I hate how weak I am. It's like nothing changed after all this time."

"Frustrated that you lost against snake freak, huh?"

"Of course I am!" Anko exclaimed.

"Want me to train you then?" Yusuke offered.

Anko stared at Yusuke, startled by Yusuke's offer. Then, as the words register to her mind, she laughed. "How low I've fallen, to have my former student train me!"

"How low are you willing to fall," Yusuke threw back, "to defeat Orochimaru?"

Anko stopped laughing. "As low as necessary."

"It's settled then."

Later on that day, Team 7 encountered the genins of Sound and was engaged into a battle. Dosu fought Sasuke, Zaku fought Naruto and Kin fought Sakura. Each member of Team 7 had more difficulty in defeating their opponents since they were all battered from the last battle with Orochimaru and their opponents use sound as a weapon, which was hard to fight against. All of them ended up being separated. As soon as Naruto and Sasuke was done with their battle (Sasuke recovered an Earth Scroll, thus completing their task), they rushed back to where they had last seen Sakura, only to realize she wasn't there. Splitting up once more, Naruto soon found Sakura with Team 10, her hair scattered around them.

Naruto rushed towards them, only stopping to send a shadow clone to let Sasuke know Sakura was found. As Sasuke came to join them, Sakura recounted how Kin was too strong and almost immediately overwhelmed her. But because of Kin's tendency to toy with her opponents, she didn't kill Sakura. Instead, she opted to grab Sakura's hair painfully and criticized her on putting more effort on her appearance as opposed to her training. As time passed, Sakura came upon the realization that this time, no one was going to save her. She would have to somehow get out of this situation on her own if she didn't want to die. Fueled by a sudden desire to live, Sakura cut her hair to escape. Kin and Sakura fought round two and just as Kin was about to capture her again, Team 10 arrived. Ino was helping Sakura fix her uneven hair when Naruto came across them, followed by Sasuke.

With the scroll from Team Dosu , Team 7 then headed towards the tower. There, they bumped into Yusuke.

"Eh?! Yusuke-nii, why are you here?" Naruto exclaimed.

Yusuke gave Team 7 a wink. "That's a secret that you'll find out later. For now, a word of advice. Rest up."

That was all Yusuke said before disappearing. The next time Team 7 saw of Yusuke again, it was when the time given for phase two was up. After the Hokage gave his speech, Yusuke stepped out and explained they are going to have a preliminary round. This time around, Team Dosu didn't show up because they were unable to find another two scrolls in time, making the number of contestants twenty. Kabuto stayed, since Team 7 alone completed the task in the Forest of Death, thus spoiling his plan to observe them by offering his help. Since Orochimaru avoided infiltrating deep into Konoha during the preliminary, he was tasked with collecting information on the Uchiha and Uzumaki, as well as seeing other's potential. The other two came from a recently known village called Village Hidden in Hailstorm. Their other teammate had reached the tower with them, but was too injured to continue to fight and dropped out when she was given the chance.

After explaining the rules, the rounds begin, starting with Sasuke vs. Akado. Sasuke won still, but with a lot more ease than he had in canon, since he had time to rest this time around and the cursed seal didn't affect him.

Misumi vs. Kankuro ended in the exact same way, with Kankuro being the winner. Sakura vs. Ino was a tie and Temari vs. Ten Ten ended with Temari winning, even though Yusuke rooted for Ten Ten. After their battle, just when Temari was about to throw Ten Ten off her fan, Yusuke warned her not to. She was about to do it anyway, as she was extremely arrogant, but then Yusuke released out a burst of killer intent that rivals Gaara's. Temari almost dropped Ten Ten in surprise and several of bystanders who felt that stared at Yusuke as well.

As Yusuke gently tugged Ten Ten off Temari's fan, he turned to her and said, "Next time, when I tell you to do something, do it. Not listening to a superior could get you killed."

With that warning and Ten Ten in his arms, he walked off to Team Gai and handed Ten Ten back to them. Then he returned back to the lower level and asked for the next match up, which turned out to be Naruto vs. Kiba.

Kiba wouldn't get down though, opting to shout to the world that Naruto and Yusuke are brothers so shouldn't that be considered as cheating.

"Kiba," Yusuke called out. "Remember what I said before?" At Kiba's blank look, Yusuke added, "To Temari." Kiba paled as he recalled. Yusuke's eyes flashed, "Get down here before I automatically forfeit you, since you apparently refuse to fight."

Kiba immediately jumped down and as Naruto and Kiba face each other, Yusuke added in a voice loud enough for every spectator to hear (although he made it as though he was only speaking to Kiba): "Yes, Naruto is my brother, but it's kinda hard to be partial when there are so many witnesses here." Then, without waiting for a response, he told them to begin. Naruto, too, won with more ease than he did in canon.

Then it was Shino's and a member of Village Hidden of Hailstorm's match. His name was Kishitani, a medic-nin. Their battle, after twenty minutes full of surprises, ended in another draw. There was a deep found respect between the two teens by the end, and the two's teams could be often found in a friendly gathering during the Village Hidden in Hailstorm representatives' stay.

The next match couldn't be said to have ended as amiably as the one before. Hinata vs. Neji's match was quite harsh. The Neji guy pissed Yusuke off with his long monologue, but he didn't say anything since it was quite obvious Naruto have something to say. And that he did, which encouraged Hinata to fight. It was incredibly painful to watch though, since their gap was obvious. Yusuke let the match linger a little, and when it appears that Hinata shouldn't go on anymore, he stepped in, announcing that the match goes to Neji.

After Naruto told Neji that "You're going down," Yusuke began another match and Gaara ended up facing Lee.

_"So we finally get to see Mr. Jinchūriki in action, huh,"_ Yusuke commented to Kurama.

_"I have a bad feeling about this. Yusuke, keep an eye on them if you don't want this to be a bloodbath,"_ Kurama said.

"Of course," Yusuke murmured aloud as his eyes met Gaara's.

"Nervous?" Yusuke asked, wanting to know more about Gaara's personality. In the area where the Sands stood, there was suddenly a lot of choking noises.

"No," Gaara answered curtly. "Frankly, I would rather fight you." An insane grin appeared on his face. "You're strong, and Mother wants your blood."

"Mother? Oh whatever," Yusuke shrugged it off. "Thanks, I guess. But he's your opponent this round," Yusuke said, pointing over his shoulder with his thumb. "Fight him first and I'll see if I want to take you up on that date."

"Yusuke-kun, you sound like a pedophile," Kakashi commented as he nonchalantly flipped the page.

"I don't want to hear that from someone who reads _Icha Icha_," Yusuke shouted back. Sensing another presence in the surrounding, he glanced over and saw Lee. Abandoning his argument, he got on to business instead. "Oh, you're here. Begin."

Yusuke then jumped back, enough distance so he could watch without being in the way, but close enough so he could interfere at anytime. The battle was intense, especially for Yusuke, who was responsible for interfering whenever it seems to be life threatening. With Gaara's killer intent high up in the air, it seems like every moment of the battle was life-threatening, which it was. The guy was just that unstable. But the eyebrow guy seems equally so, risking his life by opening his gates (Naruto, and in extension, Kurama, overheard Kakashi and Gai speaking. Kurama told Yusuke). It seems like he inflicted most of the damage to himself, since all Lee's techniques appears to be double-edged swords. The only damage Gaara did was crushing Lee's arm and leg, which Yusuke hate to let happen, but otherwise the winner wouldn't be clear.

The final contestants left were Choji, Shikamaru, Kabuto and a teen named Nakura. Choji and Shikamaru were chosen to fight each other in the next match. This was probably the most unexciting yet, heartwarming match. Both contestants forfeited immediate upon seeing that they'll have to fight each other. It was another draw.

The final match pitted Kabuto against someone called Nakura of Village Hidden in Hailstorm. Kabuto and Nakura danced around each other for a long while, both trying to guage the other's strength and stay one step ahead of the other. They darted back and forth, receiving only light wounds on both sides. Finally, the girl Nakura stopped and took in a deep breath, as in preparing for something big. Before she could show her hand, however, Kabuto sudden forfeited. This left an extremely pissed off Nakura as Kabuto exited, as he didn't intend to show much of his true abilities, lest he blow his cover as a spy, which he had this feeling he would undoubtedly do if he continued fighting.

After the Hokage explained the final test and the match-up was known (Naruto vs. Neji, Sasuke vs. Gaara, Nakura vs. Kankurō, and Temari would fight either Nakura or Kankuro, depending on who wins), the contestants were dismissed.

Naruto considered asking Yusuke to train him after Kakashi-sensei refused, but Kurama said Yusuke would probably go soft on him. "Besides," Kurama said, "it appears Yusuke is training someone else."

"Huh?" Naruto exclaimed within his mind. "Who?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you, Naruto," Kurama teased. "Why don't you go along with Ebisu-sensei for now?"

"But he's a closet pervert!" Naruto protested.

"And your Kakashi-sensei shamelessly reads porn all day long," Kurama reminded him. "Give him a chance, Naruto. Your teacher recommended him, after all."

"Fine," Naruto grumbled.

They went to the Hot Spring and as Naruto practiced walking on the water, Ebisu spotted "an open pervert" and attacked him, only to find out it was Jiraiya. Naruto eventually got Jiraiya to train him in replacement of Ebisu, who passed out. On Naruto's fifth try (threw his clothes off on the third), he mastered Water Walking. Jiraiya saw the seal that appeared on Naruto's stomach as he trained, and realized Naruto was the Jinchūriki.

Jiraiya and Ebisu were speaking on the roof about how Konoha need Jiraiya's strength, especially when Orochimaru seems to be targeting them, when Yusuke appeared.

"Hello," Yusuke greeted cheerfully. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"Oh? Who are you, kid?" Jiraiya questioned.

"Just a kid who has some business with you," Yusuke replied, walking past the men to lean over the railing. He looked up at the sky. "Tell me, Jiraiya-san, what do you think of daybreak?"

"Daybreak?"

"Yes." Yusuke turned to face Jiraiya. "_Daybreak_," he repeated. "Otherwise known as dawn, or…" Yusuke look straight into Jiraiya's eyes. "Akatsuki."

Jiraiya froze for a second, before letting out a roar of laughter. He easily swung an arm over Yusuke's shoulder in a friendly manner, although Yusuke knew, if he tried to escape, it would take effort and some element of surprise. "You like that brand of sake too?" Jiraiya asked, for the sake of Ebisu, who was at the scene, and for any eavesdroppers. "It seem like we have _a lot_ to talk about."

"Yeah, we do." Yusuke glanced up at the full moon hanging in the sky. "This is a perfect night to enjoy some sake. Why don't we invite Old Man Hokage too? I mentioned Daybreak in the passing, and it seems like he has taken an interest in it. In fact," Yusuke added, swinging Jiraiya's arm off his shoulder in one smooth move. "I have some in my cupboard. I'll go get it."

Without waiting for a reply, Yusuke leaped off the roof, easily stopping his fall by grabbing the windowsill of Naruto's bedroom window. Yusuke gave Jiariya one more look before swinging in, landing beside Naruto's bed.

"Oi!" Jiraiya hissed, ready to jump down himself to save his godson. "Get back here-!"

Naruto stirred in his sleep. "Yusuke-nii?" He murmured, blearily opening his eyes.

Yusuke's eyes soften, almost melancholically with hints of remorse. "Yeah, Naruto, it's me," Yusuke answered, gently brushing back Naruto's hair with his hand.

"You're late," Naruto grumbled petulantly, even in his half-awake state.

"Really? Sorry, didn't really notice the time. I'll make it up for you, somehow, tomorrow."

"Ramen?" Naruto asked hopefully. "For breakfast?"

"You're just asking for Kyu-chan to kill me." Naruto laughed sleepily at that. "Alright, deal. But for now, go back to sleep."

"Un. Goodnight, nii-san."

"Night, Naruto," Yusuke replied as he pulled Naruto's blanket closer to the boy. "Sweet dreams."

Yusuke exited the boy's room and several minutes later, left through the house's front door, a bottle labeled Daybreak in his hand. Jiraiya was waiting for him.

"Start talking," Jiraiya growled, attempting to put Yusuke in a headlock that would undoubtedly be considerably tighter than the one before. Yusuke dodged. "How did you become Naruto's 'nii-san'?"

"Follow me and you'll find out." Then, Yusuke ran like hell, and Jiraiya had no choice but to follow, lest he loses the teen and not get his answers.

"Hey, Jiji, I brought someone today to enjoy some sake," Yusuke greeted, raising a bottle with the word Daybreak printed boldly upon it. Behind him, Jiraiya slowed to a walk.

"Jiraiya," the Hokage simply said. "It has truly been a while."

"Yeah," Jiraiya replied. "Sensei."

After the Hokage dismissed the ANBUs guarding the room and used a jutsu to prevent anyone from eavesdropping, they got on to business. With some Daybreak sake.

Yusuke first cleared the misunderstanding he purposely created between himself and Jiraiya. "I'm Yusuke," he told Jiraiya. "From Makai."

"Makai," Jiraiya repeated under his breath as he sipped some sake. "I've heard of it, though there's no country or village that goes by that name on this continent. It seems like literally over night, streams of strong fighters with no affiliation to any Hidden Villages appeared. They have nothing in common at all, saved for three facts: one, they are all accomplished fighters. Two, no one have ever heard of them and they appear to be unfamiliar with this continent and three, they all claimed to have came from a place called Makai."

"That sounds about right," Yusuke commented. At the prompting look that the two men gave him, he told them the same cover story he told Zabuza, that Makai is a place that have been isolated for centuries. Seals were placed all around it so no outsiders could enter, nor could anyone in there could leave. Recently, the seals were dropped because times were different and they no longer need to be isolated. With the seals dropped, people of Makai then arrived at their (the Hokage and Jiraiya's) continent at their own will, either out of curiosity or for their own agenda. Yusuke's reason was a bit of both.

"I told you I was looking for my friend, right?" Yusuke asked. "Well, I found him, but he's in a tight situation."

"You're asking for our help," Jiraiya stated.

"No. We found a solution, but it would bring trouble to our surrounding. I just want to give you guys a heads up so you would have time to prepare."

"And the trouble is…?" Jiraiya prompted, even as he knew.

"Akatsuki," Yusuke confirmed. "They are going to appear during the Chunin Exam."

After their discussion, Yusuke turned to the Hokage and said, "Thanks for trusting me, Hokage-sama. I'm really grateful." With that, the last of Yusuke's seriousness disappeared, and he reversed back to his flippant ways. "Well, I'll get going then. See ya, Jiji, Hentai-san."

"Hentai-san?!" Jiraiya spluttered indignantly. "What happened to 'Jiraiya-san'?"

"That was only to make you take me seriously. Now that everything is battered out, there's no need for that anymore, is there?" Yusuke's cheeky grin infuriated Jiraiyi even more. "Bye!" Yusuke called out and just like that, he was gone.

"Brat," Jiraiya muttered darkly. Beside him, the Hokage chuckled.

Two weeks after the preliminary, Gaara attempted to kill Lee in the hospital. When Yusuke heard about it from Naruto, who ended up at the same hospital for three days after summoning the Chief Toad, Yusuke decided to involve Gaara in their plan.

"Yusuke, are you sure this is wise?" Kurama questioned. "To alter the plan when we are so close?"

"It's fine, Kurama. Don't worry."

"Even if you say that…"_It's my life that's on line, _was left unsaid.

"He was involved in our plan to begin with, as one of our bait. The plan would just be changed slightly," Yusuke smoothed. "Plus, I can't stand the way things are now."

Kurama sighed, understanding that Yusuke couldn't stand seeing something wrong and try not to fix it. "All right," Kurama eventually agreed. It was that part of Yusuke, his compassion, which made Yusuke Yusuke, after all.

The following day, Yusuke tracked Gaara down and challenged him to a fight. Yusuke chose a remote area far from any civilization and there, they fought. Beforehand, Yusuke forcefully removed a section of the chakra seal just in case his current strength wasn't adequate. Gaara eventually was forced to use Feigning Sleep Technique to bring out Shukaku at his full power, proving Yusuke's decision to remove a portion of his own seal to be correct. Yusuke then proceed to defeat the fully transformed and powered Shukaku without resorting to waking Gaara up, which was more than enough of a show of power for Shukaku to realize their strength difference. As Shukaku slunk back in within Gaara's mind, sand that was held together at Shukaku's will fell apart. Yusuke caught Gaara just in time, and proceed to return to Konoha with Gaara on his back. Three-fourth of the way, Gaara woke up

"Yusuke...-san?"

Yusuke slowed to a stop at Gaara's voice. "Hey, you're awake."

"The battle… I lost, didn't I?"

Feeling that this was a conversation that needed to be conducted face to face, Yusuke carefully settled Gaara down. "Yeah, you did."

"…What…What makes you so strong, Yusuke-san? For what reason do you fight?"

Yusuke hmmed thoughtfully. "Why do I fight, huh? I guess it's because I enjoy it."

"So you're strong because you enjoy fighting."

"I guess you could say that, Gaara. But let me tell you something. The first time I fought, it was for a childhood friend of mine. I became stronger for that reason alone. I'm strong when I fight for the enjoyment of it, but I'm the strongest when I fight to protect someone important to me."

"Fight…to protect."

"Yeah." Yusuke glanced up at the sky. "C'mon," Yusuke said, motioning for Gaara to get on his back. "Let's get back to Konoha before the sun sets."

Gaara cast Yusuke a surprised look at the gesture, causing Yusuke to roll his eyes and grab his arm. "C'mon. You don't have any energy to run, right?"

Gaara nodded slowly, understanding where Yusuke was getting at. Seeing that Yusuke-san was still looking at him expectantly, he hesitantly climbed onto Yusuke's back.

"Alright, make sure you hold on tight," Yusuke said. Then, he ran back to Konoha. Just before entering, for dignity's sake, Yusuke placed Gaara down again. Afterwards, the two walked through the gate, parting way after they did.

Gaara's attitude slowly began to change after that, and that process was only sped up with Naruto's presence. As the day of the final phase of the Chunin Exam slowly crept up, Baki wondered would Gaara still go along with their plan for the invasion. Then he wondered, if the answer to the previous question was negative, did Yusuke actually plan that all? Or was all that (treating Gaara with kindness and like a human without ever fearing he would turn on them, something even his own kin couldn't do, not until Yusuke came along) out of pure, unadulterated compassion and care?

Baki thought back to the time Yusuke invited them (Temari, Kankuro and Baki himself) over to his house at Naruto's insistence. That was the first time Baki had been formally introduced to Yusuke and vice versa. After spending some time with him, Baki realized Yusuke was as strange as he had portrayed himself to be during the preliminary, strict one second, as he had been with Temari, and playful the next as shown by the brief, yet lighthearted bicker he had with Hatake Kakashi.

He didn't appear to be any ulterior motives and was open with the Sand shinobi, answering any question they have. He, of course, asked some back, although it was mostly on the Land of Wind. All in all, dinner that night was pleasant, if not awkward at the beginning. There was a certain part of their conversation that stuck in his mind, however.

"This year, two relatively unknown villages participated in the Chunin Exam: Village Hidden by Sound and Village Hidden in Hailstorm. Pity only one made it."

"Village Hidden in Hailstorm? The one with a tornado and specks of dots flying through it as a symbol?"

"Yeah. They're a fascinating bunch. I heard their village is actually as old as Konoha, but instead of building a military base with their power, they used them for ordinary life, such as farming. That's why they are relatively unknown, since they are so self-sustaining that they are practically isolated from the rest of the continent."

Kankuro snorted. "Why use their power for farming when they could do so much more?"

"Some people are satisfied with such life, you know, just working with what they have."

"They're weak, then."

"Not quite. They actually have great control over chakra, since they use it in everyday life. Their survival skills are also great. The only reason why they didn't make it to the final phase was because they weren't accustomed to using jutsu for battles. Give them some time to adjust, and they'll be just as powerful as other Hidden Villages."

It was the 'just working with what they have' that struck Baki. Although Tsunade of Konoha was acknowledged as the best medical-nin of the continent, of all villages, Sunagakura could be considered as having the most advanced Medical Force. This is because during the Second World War, Chiyo and Sunagakura's shinobi was known to attempt to poison their enemies. A poison is no use if it could be used against them, however, so they created the antidote along with the poison. To do both requires medic knowledge of the human body, as does the creation of the technique One's Own Life Reincarnation. If they could apply this knowledge to elsewhere, instead of poisoning and fighting, change it to healing for money, then Sunagakura would have another source of income. After all, everyone would get sick one in a while, so they bound to need medics, especially since ninja help patients heal much faster than normal doctors. Shinobi could treat the healing sessions just like missions. No other villages are doing this either, so they wouldn't have competition.

It was a good idea, one that could solve their economical decline without resorting to the invasion. The only problem was that things were set in motion already. There was no way Sunagakura could back out now. Despite that, doubt regarding the necessity of the invasion lingered in Baki's mind.

The final part of the Chunin Exam then began, starting with Naruto vs. Neji. The battle ended in almost the same way, except Naruto won with more ease, his former additional training with Hiei paying off, coupled with the extra practices he had by sparing against Gaara. (Neither used demon chakra when sparing.)

This time, Sasuke was actually on time and the two's battle commenced. Just like how Naruto got stronger by sparing against Gaara, Gaara also got stronger by sparing against Naruto. Gaara was also able to control Shukaku better, not going crazy at the sight of his own blood. Since Gaara was controlling Shukaku, and it didn't seem like he was going to release the demon in the middle of Konoha as planned, Kabuto made a move instead. He casted the "Temple of Nirvana Technique on the stadium where the finals were being held, putting most present to sleep and signaling the invasion."

The Konoha ninja were prepared, however. Yusuke had informed the Hokage that the Akatsuki were going to appear during the Chunin Exam and the Hokage, in return, found it necessary to warn his shinobi. As telling them about Akatsuki was not an option, he told them be alert during the Chunin Exam since two jinchūriki was going to fight there. "There might be a chance for the demons to resurface if the jinchūriki loses control on them," the Hokage told the shinobi, knowingly using the fact that they still haven't forgotten about the Nine-Tails Attack On Konoha to his advantage. Thus, neither the Sound nor the Sand gained an element of surprise when the invasion began.

Yusuke was taken by surprise, however, since he didn't know that the invasion was going to happen. "The Sand and Sound…" Yusuke murmured, his eyes zeroing on Gaara.

"Yusuke-san…" Temari said, as she and Kankuro went to support Gaara, who was injured by Sasuke. "Gaara didn't follow the plan for the invasion. He didn't betray you."

"But you guys knew of it, no?" Yusuke said. Their silence was an answer itself. "Go now," Yusuke finally spoke. "Leave, and don't get any more involved with the invasion."

Temari and Kankuro exchanged looks. Then they glanced down at their little brother, who was doing his best to suppress Shukaku so it wouldn't damage Konoha. They nodded towards Yusuke, and left.

"Sasuke," Yusuke said. "The Chunin Exam is over. Go help your fellow Konoha-nin protect the village." Without waiting for a response, Yusuke jumped away.

Sasuke stood there for a moment before joining the fray. Sakura proceed to awaken any shinobi that could be a help to Konoha (Ino, Choji, etc.) instead of just a selected few, since there was no need for stealth, as Sasuke didn't go after Gaara.

Elsewhere, the Hokage was trapped within the Four Violet Flames Battle Encampment, preventing anyone from entering or leaving. Orochimaru revealed himself to have stolen the Kazekage's face using his Vanishing Facial Copy Technique. Then, their battle began.

Just when one thinks things couldn't get any more complicated, five members of the Akatsuki appeared. The two pairs split off, one going after Gaara, the other going after Naruto.

"Kai!" Sakura thought, making the necessary hand sign. She was about to touch Naruto so he would wake up when someone pulled him away.

"I can't have you do that," someone said. "When he was so nicely prepared for us."

Sakura looked up, eyes brushing past the long, dark cloak with red clouds to reach the blue-colored skin of the man. He had the face of a shark. Beside him stood a man with the familiar red eyes, a pinwheel whirling in each.

"Naruto!" Yusuke exclaimed upon seeing his prone form and attempted to go to him. Only to be stopped by a very familiar person, who, too, was wearing the dark cloak with red clouds. "Hiei?"

Hiei smirked, unsheathing his sword. "Long time no see, Detective."

"Let's go," Itachi said monotonously. "Our goal here is accomplished."

Kisame brought Naruto up to his shoulder. "Alright." Kisame turned to Hiei's direction. "Oi, chibi, we're going ahead."

"Call me that again and you'll be dead," Hiei snarled as he dodged a Spirit Gun.

Kisame laughed fearlessly and like that, the duo disappeared.

Back on to the roof where the Hokage was fighting Orochimaru, two men appeared outside the barrier.

"How much power do you think is necessary to break down the barrier?" the first men asked.

"Hard to say, as Four Violet Flames Battle Encampment wasn't meant to be pulled down without first harming the ninja holding it up."

"It's impossible though, since there's a barrier around them too, right?"

"Yes, that's correct. I guess we'll just have to try."

"Oi, what are you doing?" a Konoha ANBU asked. "If you touch it... you'll be engulfed into flames!"

Without paying any heed to the warning, the leaders of the Village Hidden in Hailstorm powered up. One's arm was surrounded by a huge horizontal tornado while the other's was encased into a thick piece of ice shaped like a sword.

"Hey, Touya," the man shouted. "Helping the Hokage would be enough to show that we're interested in an alliance, right?"

"Yes, Jin," Touya replied. "That would be."

The two drove their encased hands straight at the barrier. There was a moment of tense silence, and then with a hiss, both leaders of Village Hidden in Hailstorm pulled back.

"Was it enough?" Jin asked.

Touya smiled, eyes on the tiny crack at where their hands met the barrier. There was an ominous cracking sound. "Yes," Touya answered. "It's enough."

The whole barrier fell just as the Hokage activated the sealing jutsu that would seal Orochimaru and the Hokage's souls. Jin and Touya immediately went to take care of the four that were previously holding up the barrier.

"I'm not going to go quietly!" Orochimaru declared as he resisted against having his soul pulled out of his body.

"But you'll go," a voice said.

_What are we going to do for training?_

_I'm no teacher. You'll simply fight me and learn how to fight someone stronger than you._

_Lesson One: Element of surprise_ always _work and is the one of the best advantage a weaker fighter could have._

A blur darted in, surprising Orochimaru by stabbing him in the heart. That surprise was momentary, but it was enough for Orochimaru to lose his concentration. He knew, in that second, he had just forfeited his life.

"You," Orochimaru said as he turned to face the person who did him in. "…Anko."

Anko gave Orochimaru a sadistic smile. "Please die, sen_sei_."

The Hokage tugged the rest of Orochimaru's soul out of his body.

Meanwhile, another battle was also near finish. Yusuke and Hiei panted as they stared at each other, both on opposite sides.

"No more energy," Yusuke said. He brought up a fist. "I guess this is decisive blow."

Hiei merely raised his katana, the very cursed sword Yusuke got him, in response. On an unspoken signal, the two ran towards each other.

Spectors watched as Hiei swung his sword at Yusuke's head, all expecting Yusuke to dodge it as he had done before. Only that he didn't. Everyone's eyes widen as the sword went closer and closer… Then, it disappeared and Yusuke's fist connected.

On the ground laid half of the broken sword, already cracked before, but hadn't truly fallen apart until Hiei had swung. Yusuke cast Hiei a triumph grin as Hiei rocked on his heels at the force of the punch. He didn't fall. What's left of Hiei power surged forward at that moment, dancing up the hilt, which was pointed in Yusuke direction, and formed a sword.

Yusuke grunted as the flame sword ran through him. "You…bastard," Yusuke muttered, his eyes rolling back to his head. He fell, sliding off the flaming sword.

Hiei stepped towards him.

"Yusuke!" Someone shouted, followed by hurried footsteps. Hiei tsked, extinguishing the flame that formed the sword and threw down the hilt. Casting one last look at the prone form of Yusuke, he left.

Yusuke woke up sometime later feeling much better. A quick look at the calendar told him two days had passed since the invasion. Cursing, Yusuke threw off his hospital gown and donned his normal apparel that Jiraiya had placed there, as promised. Judging from his sore, but definitely nicely healing body, Yusuke guessed Jiraiya and Naruto had managed to convince Tsunade to come back before the Chunin Exam. He wouldn't have known, since Naruto had almost arrived back too late for his exam. They rushed him into his fight with Neji and there was no time to speak privately after that. And now he had to go after Naruto, before something that was not part of the plan, like the invasion, happen. By the time Tsunade was informed that Yusuke was awake, he was gone.

Elsewhere, a day later, the extraction of Kyuubi was almost complete. With one more blob of red, demonic chakra coming from Naruto's mouth, Naruto fell.

"It's done?" Hiei asked as he stepped into the room at that moment.

"It is, Hiei-kun; Thanks to you, who argument the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path so we can seal the Tailed Demons out of order. We'll rest for a day and then seal Shukaku."

Hiei shuffled over, successfully blocking entrance/exit when the Akatsuki members made a move to leave. "You're not going anywhere," Hiei said, his voice ringing loudly throughout the cave.

"Hiei-kun, are you betraying us?"

"Betraying? How could that be, when I-"

"Was never with you to begin with?" Yusuke finished, appearing behind Hiei. "So cliché, man."

"Hn."

"This is suicide," the leader declared. "You two are expecting to fight against ten S-class shinobi and come out victorious?"

"You guys are not exactly at your top form from the three days of nonstop sealing."

"Neither are you, Yusuke-kun. The flame sword through the guts was real, no?"

Yusuke's hand unconsciously wandered over to it. "Well, we have to somehow convince you of Hiei's loyalty." Yusuke cast them a disarming smile. "Don't worry, Tsunade's healing skills are really top notched," Yusuke said.

There was a hint of challenge in the leader of Akatsuki's cool voice. "Why don't we test it out?"

"Sure," Hiei responded arrogantly. Both Yusuke and Hiei closed their eyes in unison. When they opened them again, power poured forth from their body, so much that their energy are visible even without using any kekkei genkai to see. They have released their seals completely. "Let's test it out."

Hiei and Yusuke adjusted their stances accordingly so they could fight more easily. "And one more thing. It's not only the two of us." At that moment, Spirit World's people shimmered into visibility.

Their fight was extremely destructive and it lasted for an hour. Five minutes into it, Itachi revealed his true loyalty and switched side, successfully surprising some members. In the end, all of the Akatsuki members, san Itachi, were severely injured and unconscious.

"Well, half of the plan is over," Yusuke commented as he stood. He glanced over at the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, which was sealed so the leader couldn't use it during the fight. "Now on to the other half." Yusuke created a shadow clone devoid of any features, pumping the remaining of his energy in it to solidify it and to ensure it wouldn't disperse easily.

Botan stepped forward and handed him a mirror, causing Yusuke to smile. "Hey Bontan, long time no see."

"Oh Yusuke," Botan lamented. "How come I always only see you when you are in some kind of trouble?"

Yusuke grinned at her. "Because trouble just loves me. Where's Naruto?" he asked.

"Koenma revived him using his pacifier. He should wake up soon."

"Good." Yusuke jumped onto the pointer finger of the Demonic Statue. Hiei was already standing on the middle finger. "Ready?"

Hiei snorted. "Do you even need to ask?"

"_Kurama, we'll start now,"_ Yusuke called out through their mind link.

As one, Yusuke, Hiei, and Kurama called out to the mirror, the repaired Forlorn Hope, all wishing for one thing: Kurama's revival, his soul back into the body that Yusuke had just provided. For him to live, and to end his suffering, ending the days where he was stuck with thousands of other souls, which all were driving him towards insanity. That was only the surface wish, however. The mirror delve deeper into the three's minds and found an unspoken wish among the three, an unconscious wish that pulsed as steadily and strong as the more obvious one. They all wished for the other two's survival, as well as their happiness.

The mirror delved through their memory to judge the course of action. Normally, granting a wish usually requires a life, but what was there to do when all of them selflessly wish for the others to live? As the mirror delved through their memory –Hiei, Yusuke, Kurama- he recalled, of the young thief who had stolen him from Spirit World's artifact room, of the young Spirit Detective who went after him, of the wish for a human woman's happiness, of initially setting the price of the wish to taking the young thief's life, of the young Spirit Detective offering his life for the thief's, even though they were all but stranger. He recalled granting the wish, for once in millenniums, without a price and also recalled being shattered when the young brash one fired a Spirit Gun at him to reflect it back at the Jaganshi during a battle.

To think they would all become friends, the mirror mused. He dived deeper, memories of the three (formerly four) fighting for each other reoccurring. Later on, they would also unflinchingly place themselves into life or death situation just for each other. This incident was no exception.

Deeper and deeper, Forlorn Hope went. He saw the Human World Almost Ending Episode through each of the demon's eyes; he saw how Yusuke and Hiei were devastated by the lost of their friend's life, saw that it was Kurama's faith in both his friends that kept him going in his darkest hours. He saw how that faith was not groundless at all, and Hiei had found Kurama. Only that they couldn't find a way to get Kurama out of the seal which a brilliant human had created, fueled by the energy of people summoned from Spirit World.

Hiei had returned to Demon World then, to see if there was any way out. Before that, he had created a link between himself and Kurama using his Jagan Eye. He had also shattered part of the seal so Kurama would be able to see and hear whatever his host sees/hears. Like a good friend, Hiei also sent for Yusuke, knowing that Yusuke's presence alone would cheer Kurama up.

During the time Kurama (Naruto) was in Yusuke's presence, Kurama had been able to ignore all the other souls that had been with him. It was just a quality of Yusuke's that Kurama admired, the power to effortlessly draw attention of other to him, regardless good or bad. Watching Yusuke through Naruto's eyes eased his soul considerably, even when Hiei had yet arrived to create a link between Yusuke and Kurama. Yusuke was none the wiser, searching for someone who was at his side all along.

After Hiei arrived in Konoha, everything appeared to be fine with just the three of them. It was just like the old times, and for a while, everyone was content. But then the boy's birthday came, and that was when their happy world was shattered. Kurama had always noticed the way the villagers treat the boy, but never had he imagined they would attempt to kill him. It was this incident, where the assassination attempt would have been a success if not for Hiei, that woke everyone up.

Kurama's self-preservation began screaming at him afterwards, since that incident made it very clear that Naruto and, in extension, Kurama, were very, very vulnerable. They could be killed extremely easily, especially in the Shinobi World. After that incident, Kurama began planning with fervor and Hiei really couldn't blame him. He encouraged it, actually, since he too saw the necessity of it.

Hiei lighting the candles for Naruto on his birthday using his Darkness Flame (and Kurama giving him a little nudge towards it) could be considered as a beforehand apology, since they both knew they were going to manipulate Naruto's life to their own liking, all for Kurama's survival. They also saw it as necessary, albeit regrettable, since Yusuke cares for Naruto. They didn't, couldn't, back down on their decision though.

As though Fate or some kind of higher up agrees with them, Yusuke left for a mission and later on his power started going unstable; it gave them the opportunity to make their move without Yusuke knowing. It wasn't as though they purposely kept it away from him, however. There was just never the chance or need to bring it up. By the time there was a need to mention about Kurama's circumstance, Yusuke had formed too much of a bond with Naruto. Kurama and Hiei knew, with Yusuke's soft nature, he would disapprove of what they were doing.

And so Kurama and Hiei stared manipulating, Kurama in the background as the mastermind and Hiei using his Jagan to make Kurama's plans possible. But even the best kept secret would leak one day, and theirs did soon enough. Neither Kurama nor Hiei did think Yusuke would choose the child over Kurama after explaining their side of the story, but… Yusuke was known for being unpredictable after all.

Turns out that they knew their friend well, at least that side of Yusuke, in any case. They had forgotten, however, the side of Yusuke that was surprisingly insightful. Hiei and Kurama were searching for a solution in Demon World only, as they were born demons and automatic disdain for humans were a hard habit to break.

Yusuke, however, thinks quite differently simply because of his upbringing. He also has no qualms about asking for help when it was needed, easily mentioning Spirit World once he was informed of why they were manipulating Naruto.

Yusuke was pretty sure Spirit World has some record of when someone was suppose to die and how, since, after going 'out-of-character' and dying by rescuing a kid, he was revived because it wasn't time for him to die yet. "Why don't we find out how Naruto was going to die first," he suggested.

It was strangely logical. After meeting with Koenma and calling in a favor, they found out that Naruto was to die when a person called Akatsuki extracts Kyuubi from him. A little digging courtesy of Hiei told them that Akatsuki was a group, not a person, and that they were planning to extract all of the Tailed Beast, and use them for the own purpose. One of them may just include destroying the world.

Upon hearing that, the former Prince and now Ruler of Spirit World, enlisted the demon's help. The reason was simple. Spirit World works with mostly the apparitions, the spirits, rather than the living, so there was a limit to how much Spirit World could meddle with mankind's business. The only time when that limit is pulled down is when a group or person actually proves themselves to be a danger to the world. However, Akatsuki made no major move that threatens the world, so Spirit World could only stay passive until then. Also, Spirit World was more lenient when it comes to classifying people as a danger to the world, since most of them are shinobi for living and therefore, are all reasonably strong.

Here is where the demons would come in. Since they are not under the judicature of Spirit World, they can move freely, as oppose to the restricted Spirit World. Hiei was to find out more about this Akatsuki group and pass on the information to Koenma. In return, when the time comes, Koenma would do everything in his power, short of going against Spirit World, to help Kurama get free of his seal.

Kurama formulated a plan, then. He had decided to use the Akatsuki to unseal himself.

Time passed and Hiei successfully infiltrated Akatsuki by just being himself, a being who was powerful, arrogant, and would do anything to attain his goal. He had shown himself to be resourceful by being able to track down the leader of Akatsuki and identify him as such. He was self-assured enough to go into Amegakura by himself without any other back up. When the leader of Akatsuki called a meeting among the primary members of Akatsuki, Hiei proved himself to be powerful by defeating Kakuzu. When Kakauzu refused to be declared the loser, Hiei showed his intimidating side by casually remarking about destroying the Kakauzu's five hearts, despite Kakkuzu himself never having to have revealed that piece of information. Then he had the arrogance to declare that he didn't want Kakauzu's position; he was only interested in being an Akatsuki member. When asked why, Hiei replied that he has his own goals, although he did let out that Akatsuki was interesting. Hiei was given a cloak and was then considered as an outside member of Akatsuki's primary members.

Kurama found the perfect moment to set everything in motion when he heard about the Chunin Exam. Ibiki and Anko were chosen to be proctors for the first and second phase respectively and had informed Yusuke of it. Yusuke complained to them, stating that was unfair, as he too was bored, and wanted something more interesting to do. "How come I'm the only one left out?" Yusuke grumbled petulantly.

Anko poked fun at Yusuke for a while before Ibiki revealing that the Hokage was considering asking Hayate Gekkō to be the third proctor. Ibiki suggested Yusuke to go to the Hokage now if he really wanted the position, before the Hokage asks Hayate and he accepts. Yusuke immediately went and the Hokage eventually relented and gave Yusuke the position as the third proctor instead, since he seemed to want it so badly and Hayate really wasn't in the best health.

Sometime later, the Hokage officially summoned the chosen proctors to give them a briefing on their job. He told them which village would participate in this year's Chunin Exam, mentioning two previously obscure and relatively unknown Hidden Villages, as well as some specific participants that the proctors should keep an eye on. Gaara and Naruto, the jinchūriki, were included in that list.

"This is perfect," Kurama told Yusuke upon hearing this piece of information. His mind was going miles per hour. "We'll just have Akatsuki make their move during the Chunin Exam. Their bait would be the two jinchūriki that would be present. It would be killing two birds with one stone, or in this case, capturing two jinchūriki with one move."

"Hiei would tell the Akatsuki that he could make it so the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path could contain any Tailed Beast in any order. In reality, Spirit World's people would be strengthening the statue. Koenma had said he would assist us in fighting Akatsuki, after all. The Akatsuki has power hungry members, so they would undoubtedly go after the Tailed Beast with renewed vigor when the upgrade is complete. Hiei would then suggest making a move at the Chunin Exam, where two jinchūriki are."

"After the capture, the Akatsuki members would proceed to extract me from Naruto. Then…" Kurama stopped. Then what? After being extracted from Naruto, what could he do? He has no vassal to contain his soul, still.

And that was when Yusuke got the idea to use a clone's body to store Kurama's soul. He wasn't sure if it would work, all in honesty, but that was the only thing he could think of then.

"The clone would work," Koenma told them when they explained their plan to him. "But it would only last the life of a clone. Just like a shadow clone, if it is injured even once, the clone would disperse and Kurama's body would disappear."

"In order words, should my clone vassal ever disperse, it would be the equivalent of my demise."

"Exactly. And when that happens, Spirit World would have to do its job."

"hD83rtsoijfkuarkf""t4r5oetwimfenmbk""oiefkafklsag;akldf"

The mirror mentally frowned. Something was trying to block him from seeing the rest of the memory. Probably the Jagan Eye. _Well, that wouldn't do_. _After all_, the mirror thought as he unscrambled the block. _You've submitted to my digging the moment you made the wish._

"Exactly. And when that happens, Spirit World would have to do its job."

"Koenma…"

"Yusuke, you have to understand. I am already breaking several of rules by promising to revive Naruto after Kurama is extracted. Letting Kurama have a second chance with the clone is another. All in honesty, Kurama should be dead already. Half of his soul was a demon's, but his body was completely human. Had he not been sealed and therefore, had his life preserved, Spirit World would have already collected his soul and he would have long been reborn by now."

"We can't negotiate this?"

"The life of someone was never negotiable," Koenma said sadly. "Kurama's time was up long ago."

"Then what about that human woman?" Hiei spoke for the first time. "Kurama's… 'mother.'"

Koenma's eyes widen as Hiei continued to speak. "On the night Kurama used the mirror, she was supposed to die, was she not?"

"Yes," Koenma admitted.

Yusuke glanced up. "Then-!"

"The price for granting a person's wish is that person's life, Yusuke. Last time you guys were lucky. I doubt your wish would be granted without a cost this time."

"Actually, do you know why we were lucky last time?"

"It probably had something to do with Yusuke butting in to sacrifice his life for a total stranger who was a demon trying to sacrifice his life to save his human mother, right? The mirror was impressed with your selflessness."

"Uh-huh. What if we do it again?"

"The mirror can shuffle through your memory when you make a wish, you know. That's how it knew you two were sincere about your wishes last time."

"We're sincere about this too. We all want Kurama to live, but, well, excuse my sappiness for a moment, we also all want each other to live, since life without one another isn't worth living."

Hiei scoffed. "It's sappy, alright. I can't believe you let those words leave your mouth."

"Oh, shut up. You know I'm right."

Hiei had no reply to that.

"Alright, let's say this plan works," Koenma spoke. "But once the mirror sees this memory, I doubt it is going to grant your wish without a cost."

"But that's why we have our dear Jaganshi here for, right?"

The Jaganshi sealed off this memory with the best of its ability, sealing it off even from the ones called Yusuke, Kurama and Hiei. The only part they do remember of it is that, when the time comes, they have to wish for Kurama to live using Forlorn Hope. There was no acknowledgement of the unconscious wish of hoping the other two doesn't have to pay the price, but that wasn't necessary. They would wish for that unspoken wish even with their sealed memory; that was the faith they have in each other.

Their plan was to have Akatsuki move at the beginning of the Chunin Exam. After all, there was no need to stall when they could execute the plan much earlier and relieve Kurama of his pain. However, even the best laid plan has its glitch and this glitch came in the form of one Uchiha Itachi.

The gang had no way of knowing Itachi was a spy for Konoha and that his sole reason for joining Akatsuki was to protect his hometown and his brother Sasuke. Thanks to him, their plan for Akatsuki was significantly delayed, since Itachi himself was part of the duo that was responsible for capturing Kyuubi. With him unavailable and not agreeing with the 'Capture in Konoha' plan, it became increasingly difficult to get the demons' own plan moving.

Knowing something must be done, Hiei dug into Itachi's past to find out exactly why was he so reluctant to make a move. Through Koenma and Spirit World, he learned the truth of why Itachi joined Akatsuki.

Hiei then briefly returned to Makai to relay this information to Yusuke, who was there to get Zabuza and his companions settled in. He also informed Yusuke that the Hokage knew of the truth behind the Uchiha Massacre, so he should have a talk with him.

That Yusuke did. He told the Hokage as much as he dared to risk. Risk, because Yusuke knew the Hokage cared a darn lot about Konoha. What they were plotting then would affect Konoha, negatively if one was looking at it short-termed. Their scheme would take place in Konoha, since that is the location of their two baits for four S-class ninja and one certain Jaganshi. Yusuke and the Hokage would be fools to think Konoha wasn't going to sustain any damage, and fools, the two leaders were not. Hence, risk, since the Hokage might not actually go along with their plan, may even want to stop them, and it was be terribly hard to prevent that from happening if he knew of their every move for the future.

After telling the Hokage the most of their plan, as well as the part he would play in it, Yusuke gave the Hokage time to think it over. The second phase of the Chunin Exam soon came to an end and with the arrival of Jiraiya, the Hokage received the information regarding Akatsuki from him. Jiraiya informed the Hokage that Akatsuki appeared to be preparing to move, which corresponded perfectly with what Yusuke had told the old Hokage the other day and with that, he had no choice but to believe in Yusuke.

Then he had to actually whether he wanted to contribute to the plan, or even if he should not stop the plan. It was a hard decision, one he had been pondering on even before he received the confirmation, since he knew this wasn't something Yusuke would joke about.

On one hand, if they do go along with Yusuke and his friends' plot, Konoha would probably come out less than whole. What leader would he be if he knowingly let that happen to his precious village, welcoming danger into his home with open arms? But the flip side: just what would he gain if he goes with the plan? For one, he would be nipping the danger that was Akatsuki at the bud before it could bloom any further. This would ensure peace for a little longer, at the price of some disruption first. Naruto wouldn't have to grow up needing to look over his shoulder every few minutes either, afraid that Akatsuki would come after him.

But then there was the problem of Naruto himself. They were going to manipulate that child, knowingly put him into danger. Could the Hokage actually find it in him to let that happen, especially since he heard the process was excruciatingly painful and that the jinchūriki would actually die from it? Yusuke had said he would take care of that, and make sure Naruto go back in one piece alive, but could his words be trusted?

But the thing that decided it all was that ultimately, Hiruzen was the Hokage and the Hokage knew and does what was the best for Konoha. So when Jiriaya confirmed Yusuke's story, he didn't need any more time to consider Yusuke's proposition.

The Hokage really only plays one role in this plan of theirs, and that was to somehow contact Itachi and tell him it was alright to go along with Akatsuki's present plan because Hiei suggested it and he was on their side. If this operation was successful, Itachi wouldn't have to be a spy anymore. The danger that was Akatsuki would be brought down.

Itachi received the message and did as told, enabling Akatsuki to move. Days before Naruto left to track down Tsunade in preparation for Akatsuki's arrival (although Naruto himself didn't know), Yusuke suddenly apologized to him.

Naruto looked up from stuffing his third cup of ramen into his bag. "Huh? Why are you apologizing, nii-san?"

_Because I'm going to get you killed, _Yusuke thought. _Because you're going to suffer for my selfishness. _He voiced none of his thoughts, however, opting for a shrug instead. "I just remembered about that instructor who tricked you into sealing that scroll," he lied. "Sorry for not being there when you needed me."

Naruto blinked in bemusement before finally opening his mouth. "That's dumb," Naruto commented, bluntly and plainly. "It's not like you wanted that to happen, right?"

"But I let you get hurt," Yusuke pointed out.

Naruto shrugged easily in response. "You wouldn't have let me get hurt if you could have helped it."

"But what if I could have? What if I could have prevented you from getting hurt, but didn't?"

"Then Yusuke-nii probably has his reason for it."

"Could you ever forgive me for it?"

Naruto glanced at Yusuke silently for several of seconds. Finally he said, "I don't know." Yusuke wondered if it was strange how he felt like a huge weight was lift off of him at those words. "I wouldn't know until I actually experience it, but… Yusuke-nii is always Yusuke-nii so I would probably forgive you sooner or later."

_But forgetting may be just another case._

"Alright," Yusuke said. _I'll live with that._

The final phase of the Chunin Exam soon rolled along, and Yusuke never really did tell Gaara about the Akatsuki. Forlorn Hope noted that Gaara never really did tell Yusuke about the invasion either. Perhaps that was why it came as such a surprise to Yusuke when the invasion occurred, especially since the two plotting parties had no prior knowledge of the other's plan.

"Go now," was what Yusuke had said to the Sand Siblings. "Leave, and don't get any more involved with the invasion."

_This is the only chance I'll give you guys to escape,_ Yusuke thought. Gaara was the necessary bait to their plan to lure Akatsuki in, yes, so that Akatsuki could put the 'Capture in Konoha' as priority, since they could gain two jinchūriki at once. However, Yusuke's main goal was to have Kurama extracted from Naruto. It never did required Gaara to get capture.

As Yusuke jumped away after instructing Sasuke to help defend Konoha, one thought linger in his mind: _Just why didn't Koenma tell me about this?_ He wasn't naïve enough to think Koenma didn't know about the invasion, so why…

"_Yusuke, you have to understand. I am already breaking several of rules by promising to revive Naruto after Kurama is extracted."_

"_We can't negotiate this?" _

"_The life of someone was never negotiable."_

Forlorn Hope watched the memory of when realization hit Yusuke. Koenma, despite being their friends, was still the ruler of Spirit World. He couldn't have let Yusuke save everyone, because that would affect the delicate balance between the living and the dead. Koenma has to be impartial and that was why he didn't tell Yusuke about the invasion. Not only because Yusuke wouldn't have let things go quietly, but also because there was a limit to how much Koenma could interfere with the Human World.

_Fucking fantastic, _Yusuke thought as he figured it out. He didn't have time to dwell on it much longer, however, as several moments later, he spotted the tell-tale black and red cloak. From there, it was really only a matter of seconds before his eyes zeroed on the shocking orange that stood out among the dark color.

"Naruto!" Yusuke moved before he could think, with all intentions of stopping them from harming Naruto. Only to be intercepted by someone who reminded him of everything they have been plotting. "Hiei?"

"Long time no see, Detective."

Yusuke didn't need any faking when fighting Hiei after that; the need to protect Naruto was strong. Yusuke could only thank Kurama's prudent thinking of sealing more of his and Hiei's energies so they could 'fight all out' while not destroying Konoha.

Dimly, while fighting Hiei, Yusuke became aware of two very familiar energies in the surrounding. _Jin and Touya,_ Yusuke thought as he identified the energies. His lips curled. _You bastards,_ he thought fondly. _You better tell me where the hell you guys have been all these years when this is over._

And they would. Jin and Touya would tell him that the moment they heard the barriers were pulled up, they knew they were stuck in Human World. Devastation was everywhere and chaos reigned for a long time in their area until Jin and Touya took control over the situation. Touya was the brain and the voice, calming and persuading people with logic and reasoning, his infallible and stoic attitude giving people confidence to believe in him. Jin was the ever optimist friend and the muscles, giving hope to others with his never ending upbeat attitude and having the power to make a tangible difference. Together, they made quite the team and leaders for the small village that they managed to build.

Just like how Genkai trained Touya and Jin to use their energies more effectively, they taught the humans of the same. The humans then in turn, as suggested by their leaders, used their power to survive, protecting their livestocks and themselves from the radiation by infusing them with their own energy. The more energy an organism has the harder and longer it takes for radioactive elements to affect them, so Touya taught the humans to infuse a bit of energy in plants and animals everyday to protect them. Of course, the people would then eat the plants and animals that they infused energy within, so the humans would get those energy back, plus the energy from the food itself that they eat.

That was a problem solved for the humans. For the demons that wound up with Touya and Jin after being trapped in the Human World, however, there was more to be done. It all came down to one word: bloodlust. Demons were known to be belligerent barbarians, and to a degree, this is true. The urge and need to fight was ingrained into the majority of the demon population, and it was this nature of theirs that they cannot deny. They could repress it, ignore it, but it would surface again one day, and when it does, the effect would be far more profound than had it not been repressed.

Knowing this, Touya and Jin made sure to have their fellow demons, along with themselves, spar out their bloodlust every single day. Rather than telling the human the truth, as that would undoubtedly cause them to fear the demons, they simply told them it was a form of exercise to ensure good health, which was true on a level. Eventually, this caught other humans' interest and they too began to learn to spar, with some of the more patient demons' help. Before long, friendly sparing against each other became a daily ritual in their tiny village. It was never a requirement, but it was done without a fail anyway.

Touya and Jin were the ones to start using the term 'shinobi' in reference to themselves, as they _were _shinobi in Demon World. Children of their village had heard them using the term and wanting to be cool (Their leaders call themselves by that, after all), the children too referred to themselves as shinobi. In their zealousness, they also prompted their parents and aunts and uncles to do the same, and the adults did, although it was mostly to indulge their children. Whether it was their intention or not, time passed and the term 'Shinobi' stuck with them. Before long, people actually seriously refer themselves as that.

The village was self-suffice for most part, but even they had to occasionally trade, especially in the beginning. Everyone developed dependence on technology and without technology, which failed humans as radiation interfered with it, everyone had a hard time surviving as they fell back to the time when everyone has to do agriculture themselves. The village trade a little at the beginning so everyone could accumulate their knowledge and help each other out. Knowledge and objects weren't the only thing spread, however, the term 'shinobi' did too and eventually, the age where most people were shinobi was born.

Time passed relatively peacefully and everything was alright. That was until Touya realized the area they were in was too radioactive for the demons. Humans, he knew, most of them would be fine since they have the ability to adapt to their environment due to their rather short life. It was different for the demons, though; demons have longer lives and therefore, their bodies were constant for most part and don't change as easily. The small portion of energies they receive everyday wouldn't protect them for long, Touya knew. So he devised a plan.

Three months later, Touya and Jin disappeared. At first, the villagers didn't think anything of it, as they sometimes do that to hunt in the wilds or trade with merchants. They usually tell someone about it, but everyone just assumed they told someone else besides themselves. In reality, they only told one person that they were going to be gone and that person wouldn't be informing the rest any time sooner.

Two weeks past and when neither Touya nor Jin returned, the villagers finally realized something was wrong. As speculation and rumors escalated, the sole person that knew of Touya and Jin's whereabouts stepped out. Mikado brought out the sealed letter that Touya and Jin had given to him before they left. Before everyone's eyes, he broke the seal and read the letter aloud. His voice trembled as he read, but sheer determination allowed him to continuously read until the very end.

The letter explained the two demons' situation to them, of how their lives would be threatened if they were exposed to the radiation any longer. It spoke of how Touya and Jin made sure the village was stable and was self-sustaining before they left. It also said they wish the village would stay independent and be isolated from others, as the areas outside of their village were not as stable as the village itself. Those who had traded with the 'outside world' knew of this, and those people nodded in agreement as Mikado read. It also stated that the ice and wind master understand if they decide not to listen, since they have abandon them after all. For that, the two leaders apologize. We have not left the village without a leader, however, it also read.

Touya and Jin had worked with several of candindates they personally hand-picked to be their successor. Those whom we trained know who they are, the letter read. We've already chosen a leader out of all the other candidates. The candidates who weren't chosen are expected to assist the chosen leader. That would make up for their lack of experience.

It went without saying that Touya and Jin found their replacement in eighteen-year-old, half-dragon-demon Mikado, who was entrusted with the letter. The villagers were angry all right, some with the leader being so young, others with the founders leaving without a word until it was too late. But Jin and Touya had chosen correctly, and the former candidates, not one bit envious or bitter, came forward to protect Mikado from the other villagers' rage. There were five candidates, excluding Mikado, and they all have some kind of reputation.

Anri Sonohara: An intelligent lady with deadly precision with swords. Currently, she is in possession of a cursed blade called Sandai Kitetsu, also known as Saika.

Celty Sturluson: Woman with an ability to manipulate shadows. An ancestor of hers was a Nara, who chose to settle in the village when the merchant Nara clan passed by it. She is also the wife of Shinra, one of the two doctors in the village.

Izaya Orihara: A rather problematic man in his late-twenties who traveled across the continent when he was a teenager as an informant. There was no one he fails to unsettle, save the former leaders and Simon. Mikado is also unaffected to an extent.

Masaomi Kida: A man beloved by the whole village and the best friend of Mikado.

Simon Brezhnev: A sushi chef who happened to be the strongest in the village in terms of taijutsu. He is a pacifist.

Shizuo Heiwajima: Not one of the candidates, but not because he wasn't chosen. He actually refused, stating that he was not leader material. He hung out with the candidates when the leaders trained them anyway, and is undoubtedly on their side (with the exception of Izaya). He is also known to be extremely violent when provoked, and is the child of a human and a demon.

Mikado Ryūgamine: He has no notable special characteristic with the exception of being the child of a human and a dragon demon. He has the ability to draw people in and is strangely blunt at times. Currently, he is the leader of the village.

Anyway, with so many prominent people on Mikado's side, no one dared to oppose. At the request of a villager, Mikado showed them where Touya and Jin had sealed themselves to prevent being even more affected by the radiation. Mikado pointed out the small island off in a distant, which was now surrounded by a wall of tornado. "Jin-san created that," Mikado explained, "to prevent anyone from harming them while they were in their sealed state. Touya-san had also surrounded themselves with thick sheets of impenetrable ice in case someone manages to get pass the first barrier."

There was a moment of silence before Shizuo spoke up. "Now what? You're going to be our leader?"

"Yes, for now," Mikado answered. "But Touya-san and Jin-san would always be our true leader." It was said softly, but with conviction. Mikado seemed to snap out of the strange mood he was in the next moment. "O-Of course, if you want me to be the leader. If not, it's also fine. I can step down-"

"Mikado, chillax," Kida said laughingly, swinging an arm over his friend's shoulder. "Who said we didn't want you to be the leader."

"But-!"

"Mikado-kun, I'll follow you if you're the leader," Anri said softly, but firmly.

"Me too." "Me too," was heard through the crowd.

"But before…"

"Before we were worried about your age, but it seems like there's no need to worry if so many people are going to help you out," someone spoke up, nodding towards the candidates. "Jin-san and Touya-san mentioned this in their letter too and said it was fine."

"Besides," another spoke up. "They have chosen you, haven't they? I trust their judgment."

"Most of all," a villager concluded. "We trust _you_. You are quite the honest guy and are full of good intentions. You listen and understand people. I know since I watched you grow up in this village. Before, back there, we were just shocked. But now it's fine. Be the leader, Mikado. I want to see how you would shape our village, the village that Touya-san and Jin-san established and the one that you said would always be theirs."

Mikado looked out into the crowd, and was met with encouraging nods and smiles. "I-"Mikado attempted to speak, but finally settled to bowing at waist-level instead when he couldn't find the word. "Thank you," he said, his voice filled with emotions. He stood up straight a moment later. "I have an idea."

"Jeez, using your authority as a leader already?" Kida joked. Mikado colored, his hands waving in denial in fear of people actually thinking that way, but at hearing the good-natured laughter, he knew everyone knew that wasn't so.

"So what is this idea of yours, Mikado-_kun_~?" Izaya asked cheerfully, not acting his age at all.

"Um. I thought maybe we should name our village," Mikado answered. He spoke up again, raising his voice before anyone could drown him out. "Is it fine if we call ourselves Village Hidden in Hailstorm?"

Everyone stopped to stare at him, all in silence. In the corner of his eyes, Mikado noticed a flurry of motion in the midst of stillness. He turned just as a piece of paper was shoved into his face.

_Is that for Touya-san and Jin-san? Hail for Touya-san, the ice master and storm for Jin-san, the wind master? _– the note by Celty.

Mikado nodded and seeing that everyone didn't understand what happened, as they couldn't all have read the paper, he read it aloud with Celty's nod as permission. Then, he answered again. "Yes, our village is named after our leaders. Hail for Touya-san and storm for Jin-san." He paused. "What do you think?" Mikado asked, somewhat anxious. "Is it alright?"

"Good!" Simon declared, nodding. "Good name!"

A smile broke across Mikado's face. "You really think so, Simon-san?"

Simon nodded again, a wide smile on his face as well. Others began nodding their agreement.

"It's decided then," Shizuo finalized.

Later on, the village also decided to record the history of the village, starting from the founding, so their children would know all about their hometown. In it include information about Jin and Touya, Mikado and his next successors and so forth.

The tales of Jin and Touya was also passed down from one generation to another. "This village belongs to Jin-san and Touya-san. You see that tornado over there. Legend is that years ago, the tornado was made by Jin-san. It surrounds a whole island and has been there since the rule of Mikado-san."

"What is on the island?" The child asked excitedly, "Is it treasure!?"

The mother laughed softly. "No, dear. The founders, Jin-san and Touya-san, are sealed there, encased in ice. One day… one day when the tornado cease and the ice melts, Jin-san and Touya-san would be back to lead us once more."

"When would that be?"

"I don't know, child," the mother said. "But when that day comes, remember to welcome them back with the best that we have."

Time passed and one day, the tornado dispersed. There was a huge commotion as people noticed and that day, everyone took a day off from work to boat to the small island and personally see if the legend was true for themselves.

True, the legends were, as the villagers found out. On the island, in a frosted cave, stood the forms of two men encased in crystal clear ice, enabling the villager to see that the two men had the exact features of the two founders depicted in the text of the village's history.

With the utmost care and as soon as possible, the block of ice containing the bodies were extracted from the cave. It was then placed in the centre of the village after the bottom of the ice was shaped to a straight edge so it could stand on its own. From then, even more than before, Jin and Touya were revered as gods.

Seasons came and went and imperceptibly, as the seasons gone, the ice containing Jin and Touya thinned little by little. The villagers of the now larger Village Hidden in Hailstorm were, needless to say, stunned when the ice simply cracked one day and out stepped the two very much alive founders.

While the legend of the founders was passed from generation to generation, little people actually believed in them. True, the bodies of the leaders had been found where the myth had said they were sealed, but myths also said Jin-san and Touya-san were demons, which was ridiculous since they were seen in a good light and demons are notoriously known as evil. As time passed, the latter generations simply explained away the 'statues' at the center of the village as manmade statues enclosed in ice, made in attempt to bring legend to life and to have something for the people to worship. Of course, it went without saying that no one believed that the founders were immortal, as stated in the text, either. The founders may live within the myths and legends, but it is impossible for man to live forever. Only kids would believe in an outrageous story like _that_.

In addition, it was hard to believe that the legends people in Village Hidden in Hailstorm have been worshipping for centuaries were actually not, like many others, figments of one's dream and imagination. The idea that a manmade tornado had manged to surround the island for centuries – so long that people weren't even sure if there was a island there in the first place – without causing any unintentional damages and that the ice encasing them had lasted even longer, was preposterous.

Surprisingly enough, it turned out to be true. The proofs were standing right beside them. The villagers passed the proofs every single day in their lives and with their very own eyes, watched them step out of the ice that contained the two 'statues.' They could no longer dismiss the two founders, Jin and Touya, as myths. Then, their upbringing took over.

Ever since Mikado came to rule, legend of the founders has been told to the next generation. It was not only a bedtime story for kids, but also the history of their village that they should be proud of. In school, students are tested on it. That was the faith they had in Touya and Jin. Despite not believing that Jin and Touya had once walked on the same soil as them, when the villagers are in trouble, ultimately, they pray for the two founders to guide them. The belief in Jin and Touya were rooted since their birth, whether the villagers themselves conscious of it or not.

So when the two leaders were unsealed, as legend had claimed they would, the villagers automatically welcomed Jin and Touya with the best they have, accomadating to their every need. Touya and Jin spent the first second months learning about their people and village, as well as the society they now live in. By the end of the first month, people slowly began treating Touya and Jin as normal leaders and not as divine beings. By end of the third month, the current leader willingly stepped down to allow Touya and Jin to rule again. She was still there to help them with the transition, however, and a new position was made solely for her. The position, in terms of ranking, was directly below the leaders'. She was like JinandTouya's right hand woman.

During the days the demons stayed in Village Hidden in Hailstorm, they realized that the village really didn't have more contact with outside the village than necessary, just as they requested. Touya and Jin also saw the need for that to change now, however, since the village was considerably larger than when it had been first established, easily six times as large in terms of population. Village Hidden in Hailstorm could no longer easily provide everything they need with surplus. Touya worried that if a natural disaster strikes, the village would be in a crisis.

Nanao informed Touya that he was correct in that theory. That scenario had happened once, almost five years ago. Their crops were flooded overnight by a sudden flood, drowning a number of their crops. They had barely managed to brush by that time. Nanao had been working on increasing trades with others ever since, but it was extremely hard when Village Hidden in Hailstorm still uses the barter system, where good are traded for other goods instead of in money. Villagers were reluctant to adapt the money system, especially if it means trading would increase, since that would defy the final request of their Founders.

Resolved to change Village Hidden in Hailstorm's foreign policies, Jin worked on convincing the villagers about the benefits of trading while Touya gathered information to see which country was best to express their interest in trading with and when would be the best time to hint at it. Moreover, how could they express this when Village Hidden in Hailstorm was so against alliances before?

Then Touya recalled a scroll he found, which was written by a traveling villager of Village Hidden in Hailstorm. It described places he had been to and adventures he had experienced. Sunagakure was one of the places, and the travler had arrived just in time to witness the Chunin Exam being held there that year. The writer of the scroll found out that the Chunin Exam occurs every four years, and each year, they are held at different places. The exams themselves are also different every time. The only thing that remained the same was that genins of villages all over participate every time it was held.

Touya thought that would be the perfect time for Village Hidden in Hailstorm to be known to the world. When Jin finally managed to convince them all that the trading was a good idea, Touya presented the idea of having some people attend as Village of Hidden in Hailstorm's representative and participate in the Chunin Exam. Since there was no rank within their village to determine who would go, those interested in testing their skills volunteered instead.

Three teams were formed from the volunteers and they then began focusing on solely fighting and working together. They also practiced using their jutsu for offensive and defensive purposes. While jutsu were used by the village, they were only everyday purposes, such as gentle spraying of water to water their agriculture. Their control was excellent due to that, but they also haven't ever fought with their jutsu. The nine volunteers need to change that. Their taijutsu were all brilliant due to everyday practice since the day they learned to walk though.

Three months passed and it was time for the volunteers travel to the Chunin Exam. Jin and Touya soon followed and arrived in Konoha merely two days before the final phase of the Chunin Exam to watch Nakura's battle. They also planned to use that time to speak to Konoha's Hokage regarding some trading between the two villages, but then the invasion occurred.

All of these, Touya and Jin would later tell Yusuke, as they had only realized Yusuke was in Konoha when they saw him acting as the proctor for the Exam, and therefore hadn't had the time to talk to him. But for now, they had just entered the fray and Yusuke and Hiei's battle was near the end.

The final battle moment between Yusuke and Hiei were all carefully devised. At the last moment, both of the demons' energies were supposed to be used up and a deciding round was supposed to take place. Yusuke was supposed to be too tired to avoid the sword and Hiei was to slash a clean, nonfatal wound across Yusuke's torso. Someone, a spectator, upon seeing the battle concluded, would undoubted interfere as a victor had appeared, successfully 'preventing' Hiei from dealing the final blow. Hiei would simply leave, as his goal was accomplished and the 'dispute' between Yusuke and himself would be settled. Business finished, Hiei would have no reason to stay any longer. It wasn't as though striking a man already down was going to prove himself to be any stronger anyway.

The plan had gone awry, however. At the last moment, someone among the spectators flicked a rock at Hiei's sword. Both Yusuke and Hiei noticed as the rock made a resounding _clack_, but by then, there was nothing they could do. Hiei was already in the motion of swinging the sword and he couldn't stop. The sword would fall apart at the swing. Hiei cursed the henged Shadow Clone of Ataksuki's leader in his mind as the sword, in slow motion, split into two halves. _Damn that paranoid, untrusting bastard,_ Hiei thought even as his body froze indecisively, like a puppet cut of its string.

Now what?

_Danger!_ Hiei's instincts screamed at him. Hiei barely had the time to look before Yusuke's fist met Hiei's cheek. His grip on the hilt tightened, reminding him of what he had in hand, and the next move was purely automatic. Fire danced up the hilt, effectively creating a flaming sword that ran straight through Yusuke.

Hiei's eyes were about to widen, to express shock and horror; he had no intention of doing that, much less that injure Yusuke _that_ badly. The pained look on his face spoke volumes, but then: "_Kurama_," Yusuke reminded Hiei. "_The plan…" _Hiei caught himself before he showed that he cared.

Then, Yusuke fell, and Hiei couldn't help but step forward as he witnessed what just occurred.

"Yusuke!" someone shouted, mistakingly thinking Hiei was trying to cause even more harm.

_All the better,_ Hiei thought bitterly as he painstakingly schooled his features to a sneer. Casting on last glance at Yusuke's injured form, Hiei dropped the hilt and left. A second later, a satisfied Shadow Clone dispersed.

The rest were pretty self-explanatory. Hiei returned to the hide-out, where Itachi and Kisame had already arrived. They set things up to extract Kyuubi from Naruto and twenty minutes later, Sasori and Deidara returned with Gaara. Since Gaara left ahead before Akatsuki arrived, the duo was forced to take extra measure to track and subdue him.

Since everything was already prepared, all that left was extracting Kyuubi. That took three days and once it was done, Hiei and Itachi revealed their true intentions. After the long, hard fight, Yusuke, Hiei and Kurama all used the Forlorn Hope.

And now that Forlorn Hope knew everything and saw the whole picture of what had happened, what should he do?

Should he grant the wish? It wasn't as though it would hurt him either way. But if he does that, then he wouldn't be fair to all the others. He was known as _Forlorn _Hope for a reason, after all. Besides, what holy artifact was he, teaching others that people can obtain what they want without a price?

No, he can't grant the wish without a price. But not granting it wasn't an option either. Granting wishes that others ask is a must for him; the only control Forlorn Hope really had was when it came to choosing the price. The price is usually something the user values the most or the equivalent of what the user ask for. More than often, because what the people ask for was so large, the price ends up being their life. This can't be the case here, though, not when they are wishing for each other, especially the demon fox, to live.

Catch 22, what should he do?

In the end, Forlorn Hope took the middle ground.

The next time Yusuke woke up, he was in a cell. "What the hell," Yusuke muttered as he slowly sat up, eyes taking in his surrounding. There were a dozen of ANBUs around his cell. There appeared to be someone in the other cell across from him too, but he couldn't be sure. "Where's Kurama?" Yusuke exclaimed, suddenly recalling the reason there was an opportunity for someone to capture him without his knowing at all. There was a flash of bright light coming from the mirror after they made the wish and then, darkness. Konoha's people probably got them then.

"Shouldn't you be worrying about yourself first?" someone said, causing Yusuke to automatically turn in that direction.

"Jiraiya," Yusuke stated. Ire sudden flared within him. "What's with this treatment?!" Yusuke demanded, gesturing around him. "I fulfill my part of the agreement, didn't I!" Yusuke didn't let Jiraiya have a word in. "And where is Hiei and Kurama!?" His energy level rose dangerously high at the thought of them being harmed. Considering that his energy was not resealed, the ANBUs' sudden alertness were not unfounded precaution.

"Whoah, calm down, Yusuke, before the council has one more thing to pin you with," Jiraiya warned. He turned around and gestured to the ANBUs to stand down in attempt to keep peace, but despite the Sanin's intention, the ANBUs still looked considerably tense. The heavy arua Yusuke was emitting and the murderous look on his face were certaintly not helping. "Hiei's and Kurama's fine," Jiraiya said, quickly answering Yusuke's main question.

"Where are they?" Yusuke questioned, almost immediately after the reply.

"In another cell," Jiraiya told him. "We're working on getting you guys out right now."

"Why are we even in cells in the first place? Wait- You mentioned something about the council, didn't you?"

"Yeah. A day after you disappeared from your hospital room, we felt a heavy presence approximately a day run away from us. We suspected it to be Akatsuki, since the presence was ominous and appeared to be dangerous, so we organized several of our squads to check it out. They found a huge clearing in the middle of the forest as they headed towards the orgin of the heavy chakra. In the middle were you guys and the members of the Akatsuki. All of you were unconscious, except for Itachi and Itachi himself wouldn't say anything regarding what happened. So we brought all of you in, and placed you all in the highest level of our cell. The council thought you guys were too dangerous to be left alone, even though you helped us elimate a great threat."

"Doesn't Jiji have a say in this?" Yusuke said. He refused to believe that the Hokage would let this happen without a word.

Jiraiya casted Yusuke a forlorn look. "You don't know," he stated. Yusuke somehow knew what was coming next. "Sensei passed away."

Yusuke closed his eyes briefly. "How?"

"He was fighting with Orochimaru, and used a jutsu that would seal his and Orochimaru's soul."

"Did he succeed?"

"Yeah. He did, thanks to Anko." Yusuke blinked at him. "Orochimaru was about to slip away, but then Anko came out of nowhere and stabbed him in the heart. That shocked Orochimaru enough for him to lose his concentration and Sensei took advantage of that and used his last burst of energy to pulled his soul out."

"Ah. That's good; At least Jiji didn't die for nothing. Anko got to revenge to boast too." Yusuke turned his head to face Jiraiya. "What will you guys do now?"

"Tsunade was chosen to be the Hokage. Since the Chunin Exam wasn't completed, no one was promoted to a Chunin either. Right now, she's working on getting you guys out of the cells."

"You guys meaning…?"

"The short guy called Hiei, and you."

"What about Kurama?" Yusuke asked.

"No one knows what to do with him, since they've never seen him around and he wasn't wearing in an Akatsuki cloak. He is in the hospital right now. His body was really weak when we found him. The council would have thrown him in the jail anyway, but Tsunade's medic code wouldn't allow that to happen to someone in dire need of medic attention. She's the Hokage, so the council relented on the condition that his room is heavily guarded."

"Did he wake up?"

Jiraiya shook his head. "No. His condition did get better, but he never did show any signs of waking."

"And Hiei?"

"He's still unconscious. Tsunade checked him and said he will wake up soon."

Yusuke let out a heavy breath of relief. Their gamble was a success. Kurama got his body back. Hiei and he were alive. Yusuke's lips curled to a grin. They're alive.

xxx

Yusuke was still unable to leave the cell, with the council still stubborn on the decision of not releasing them. However, due to the fact that Shikamaru, Kiba and Choji spoke up for him, the Nara, the Inuzuka, and the Akimichi clans respectively are all now pressuring the council. The civilians who Yusuke hung around with also protested his treatment. "Soon," Tsaunde assured him, "The council would eventually give in." Aside from telling him about the progress with the council persuasion, Jiraiya and Tsunade also brought him news (like about the trading agreement Tsunade made with Village Hidden in Hailstorm) and spoke to him practically everyday. It wasn't enough, though. Not nearly enough.

Although they reassured him that they were going to get him out soon, Yusuke doubted it. Yusuke and Hiei were powerful beings after all, ones without any alliances or attachment to Konoha. There was no way to ensure that Yusuke and Hiei wouldn't go against Konoha in the future. It was better to get rid of a danger before it becomes a threat. Isn't that what they did with Akatsuki? Yusuke knew many people think that way as well. That was why the council could still stay strong on their decision, despite having three major clans and the majority of the people in protest. And that was also why there have yet to have any real progress with the situation.

Yusuke was getting impatient and so was Hiei, who had awoken three hours after Yusuke. Yusuke had a hell hard time convincing Hiei to allow things to stay this way for a while. In the end, it was Kurama's condition that convinced him.

Kurama's body was still weak, nowhere strong enough for any kind of travel. Recalling that Kurama's body was originally a clone, they didn't dare to risk anything with Kurama, not until his body grows stronger. That was the time limit, however. As soon as Kurama's body was strong enough for travel, they are out of there.

During this time, Yusuke and Hiei also noticed something. Despite having plenty of rest, as that was really the only thing they can do in their cells, their energy level wouldn't rise past B-class. Hiei and Yusuke finally came to the conclusion that it was part of the price for Kurama. _At least it wasn't any of our lives_, Yusuke said to a fuming Hiei, who had his power lowered once again. The first time, it was when he got his Jagan, which lowered him from A-class to D-class. Now that he was a S-class demon, he got lowered _again_, now to a B-class. Hiei was understandably annoyed.

Yusuke was also very, very bored. Despite still being able to communicate with Hiei, an annoyed Hiei was simply not sociable. Yusuke knew if he did bother Hiei, he would get pissed at him and since they are a distant away, Hiei was probably going to take his anger out on his surrounding. That was not the way to go about thanking the late Hokage for going along with his plan which caused him to lose his life in the process, so Yusuke avoided annoying Hiei even more. So he decided to speak with the guy in the cell across from him after he awoke. He goes by the name, Kisame, and looked very much like a shark.

At first, the ANBUs guarding them were darn alert as Yusuke spoke with Kisame, believing they were plotting some kind of evil plan to get away. By the next hour and all that was discussed were random, trival facts, the ANBUs finally stopped examining every word they said to see if there was any hidden meaning behind it. They still listened in on their conversion though.

Through the conversation, Yusuke discovered that Kisame's personality was very much like a demon's. They soon developed a sense of inmate/fellowship.

A week passed peacefully before the inevitable happened. Yusuke and Hiei broke out of jail. Hiei went to retrieve Kurama from the hospitial, whose condition became much more stable under Tsunade and Konoha's doctors and nurses care. And Yusuke? What did he do while Hiei went to get Kurama? He freed all of Akatsuki's members, with the exception of Itachi, who didn't need freeing as the truth about the Uchiha Masscre came out.

Together, they fought their way out of Konoha. Miraculously, no one was severely injuried and definitely, no one died. Yusuke made sure of that as he sat on top of his spirit beast, casting one last look at the engraved face of the Third on the Konoha Monument and the blonde haired boy who sat upon it.

Decades past since then, and the Worlds slowly began to change. Humans were made aware of the demons. Just as how demons infiltrated the Human World, people like Zabuza and the Akatsuki began living in the Demon World.

At first, it was only a temporary place for missing-nins to dodge being hunted by their former villages. At the time, the barrier around the Demon World was still not completely down, so only selected fews managed to find/stumble upon it. It was a perfect place for the missing-nins to hide out, since there was a slim chance of those hunting the missing-nins finding them. The missing-nin would leave soon enough, but they would eventually be drawn back to the Demon World when the times are harsh. There, no one knows what missing-nins are. Hell, they don't even have any affiliations. They don't have to worry about any villages and alliances in Demon World. They could just be themselves. It was this quality of Demon World that drew them back time after time. Sure you can randomly get drawn into bar fights, which happens more often than not even in broad daylight, and have the shit knocked out of you (residents here sure know how to fight), but there was this sense of freedom that can't be found anywhere else. They are bounded to nothing, except what they willingly bound themselves to through relations with others. It was also these relations that led the missing-nins back to Demon World when they get tired of the Shinobi World scene and decide to retire/settle down and live a quiet life (although life in Demon World was never completely quiet).

Demon World didn't stay a secret among the missing-nins though. Just like how missing-nins stumbled upon Demon World, other ninja and civilian soon came across it. There was this almost war, where the Hidden Villages demanded Demon World to hand over all the missing-nins. The demons obviously refused, not only because their pride wouldn't allow them to take orders from others, but because many of the missing-nins were one of them now. The missing-nins didn't know everyone in Demon World, that was simply impossible, but they do get to know people after integrating into Demon World. Those people wouldn't let go without a fight, and the missing-nins certainly won't compliantly let the villages drag them back either. Missing-nins weren't known as such for being complying, after all.

In the end, it was Village of Hidden in Hailstorm that stepped in and settled things. As well known fighters in the Demon World, Jin and Touya do hold a sway in the demon population, as they do in Human World as leaders of Village of Hidden in Hailstorm, which flourished under their rule. They had secured a stable friendly relation with Konoha and were personally friends with Naruto, the sixth Hokage. Both the Fifth and the Sixth had agreed not to conflict over the issue of the missing-nins anymore at Touya and Jin's request. The reason they gave in was mostly because it would generate too much trouble and partly because they didn't have much missing-nins who did terrible, atrocious crimes anyway. Shikamaru, the Advisor, agreed.

Since it was generally agreed upon that Konoha was the strongest Hidden Village, practically all village looked at Konoha for the lead. Since they have withdrawn their discontent, on the condition that Demon World as a whole cannot stop them from arresting any missing-nin that meddles with shinobi business on the Shinobi Continent, other villages began wavering in their decisions. They have finally withdrew when Gaara, (after sending in some people to infiltrate the place and came back with reports that their missing-nins appeared to be content in Demon World, enough that they shouldn't have any intention of returning to harm their former village, especially since they appear to have done enough damage in Demon World itself) the Kazekage, ordered his people to withdraw on the same condition of Konoha. Demon World's leader at the time agreed readily to the conditions, and thus all villages pulled back and the near war was avoided.

This doesn't stop individuals from investigating Demon World, however, especially since it now harbors most of Human World's missing-nin. Shinobi go there in private during their own time, some wanting to take things into their own hand for the deeds some missing-nins have done in the past toward either themselves personally or to the village, while others went purely to see what was so special about about Demon World that made so many want to stay there. It is not to say that all those who went for revenge were successful, of course, although some were. Either way, this caused an influx of people to go into Demon World; as a result, people of Human World learned more about Demon World, its goods and bads.

Those who had criticized Jin and Touya after they revealed themselves to be demons suddenly don't feel so self-righteous after seeing Demon World. The term 'demon' has long been a connotation for evil and barbarians, as those have been the myths. As demons and humans began learning to coexist with each other, humans dropped the term 'demons' for the race, as it was clearly a derogatory label. People simply refered to them as they refer to others: by their name. This continued to apply for the 'demons' who were stuck in Human World when the barrier was pulled up to prevent radioactive elements from entering the other two worlds. As a result, later generations didn't learn that 'demons' were among them.

In truth, many of the people that are refered as 'humans' are actually 'hybrids' of 'humans' and 'demons,' much like Yusuke. This is why some people have extraordinary strength or power. They are those whose stronger demon blood has awakened. Depending on each individual, their demon blood could be very obvious or obsure. An example of this is Kisame's physical features and the Uzumaki clan's rather large chakra reserve respectively. Since all these information were relatively unknown to the population, people soon fell back to the original thinking that all demons are cruel and destructive. When the 'humans' enter Demon World, they witnessed that for all that 'demons' are called, they are rather much like the shinobi themselves. They can feel love and pain, can be intelligent and loyal, and are great fighters and more. The 'demons' metabolism are just significantly higher than theirs.

Centuries later found 'humans' and 'demons' intergrated once again, along with the two worlds. The Human and Demon World as a whole are now simply refered to as the Shinobi Continent; 'humans,' 'demons' and 'hybrids' are now all known as shinobi, since by this time, everyone has at least one drop of demon and human blood within them.

As the truth of people being 'hybrids' became known, a lot more dojos were built. _It all came down to one word: bloodlust. Demons were known to be belligerent barbarians, and to a degree, this is true. The urge and need to fight was ingrained into the majority of the demon population, and it is this nature of theirs that they cannot deny. They can repress it, ignore it, but it would surface again one day, and when it does, the effect would be far more profound than had it not been repressed. _Since everyone are 'hybrids,' the whole population has this urge to fight as well, regardless of whether their 'demon' blood are awaken within them or not. It was simply instinct.

The dojos are methods to spar out the people's bloodlust. It wasn't enough though, especially as people got more powerful from training in the dojo everyday, just as villagers of Village Hidden in Hailstorm do, to rid themselves of their bloodlust. The dojos often sustain considerable damage due to the people's power and their daily usage of it. In the end, five large arenas were built on Demon World's land, so people could spar against each other. They are open 24/7 and each one is different. There is an arena for purely one-on-one, another for three vs. three (individual fights, but depend on the result as a team to win), and a three on three where all six fighters are on the field at once to fight. There are five vs. five arenas as well; they are basically the same as the three vs. three arenas, but with more people participating.

The arenas don't do tournaments, since they are opened 24/7 and it soon became a great source of annoyance when people arrived a little too late and the tournament started; those people would then have to wait until the whole tournament ends before being able to participate in that arena. A new system was devised instead.

Those who wish to participate in an arena would have to register themselves and their group members so a file could be created for them. This file would record the amount of wins, loss and ties that group have, as well as their opponents. If it is the team, but individual fights, the file would also contain who won those one on one battles. The goal of the people is basically to have as many wins as possible. The top ten most wins group/individual of each arena would be announced at the end of the year, so those people could gain their deserved recognition.

Therefore, there usually aren't any tournaments. People simply fight as many times as they want, and withdraw whenever they wish. As soon as one group/individual is ready to fight, they would be paired up with another available group/individual. As this is the case, the people's opponents are all at random, unless they are specifically requested. The request has to be mutual, though. Once that is done, they would then be assigned to a section, where the two sides would then have their battle. The win/loss would then be recorded and the process would repeat once again. The team/individual are not obligated to continue even if they have won, just as a person/group that lost doesn't have to leave, although they usually rest up before resuming again.

There is also no limit to the number of groups a person could be part of, although it is asked by the managers of the arenas to tell them if a group would never work together again so their file could be deleted. People can create as many groups as they wish, although people usually just sticks with one group and concentrate on getting as many wins for that group, unless they are just starting to participate in the arenas and are choosing teammates.

Individual have files as well. All wins, losses and ties for all arenas are counted in these personal files. While the wins for each arena would be erased at the end of each year after the top ten most wins individual/teams are announced so everyone has a fair chance at getting the most wins, the personal files' data wouldn't be. The top ten individuals that obtained the most wins culmulatively, throughout their life, would have their names announced at the end of each year as well.

Tournaments still occur as an occasion, around once every three months for every arena. These tournaments are basically normal tournaments, where a group or individual fight against another group/individual respectively. Unlike the arenas' daily held battles, however, a person/group would be out of the tournament once they lose. This doesn't count towards any files. Like the Ruler Tournament, anyone could participate in any of these tournaments. These planned tournaments are announced three months beforehand so people could register.

A special arena would be built every four years for the Ruler Tournament, since the arena would be demolished by the end of the event thanks to the final contestants fighting each other. The winner of the Tournament would then rule the whole Shinobi Continent (both Demon and Human World), although the Kages are still in place. The Kages make the laws for their villages, although the Ruler would lay several of ground rules that the Kage would have to follow and enforce. As a rule, to avoid putting too much power in ones hands, during a Kage's rule of their village, s/he is not allowed to participate in the Ruler Tournament.

This way, tyranny could be avoided. The Ruler, with legit reasons, could demote a Kage at any time should he/she be unjust with his/her rule. The village, as a whole, would then choose another Kage. Likewise, should the Ruler be unjust with his/her rule, the Kages have every right to kick the Ruler off of his/her throne. Should that ever happen, for that time until the next tournament, the Kages would solely rule their own territory/village. Those that are not under the rule of any Kages would simply self-govern, although the nearest village is obligated to step in if anyone gets too out of hand.

The Kages and Ruler balance and keep each other in check. This applies to any law the Kages or Ruler makes as well; if it is believed to be unreasonable, the citizens have every right to not follow it. The Ruler would then personally announce the law as not in effective, should the Kage with the unjust law not repeal the law when the people expressed discontent. It is the duty of the Ruler to protect the citizens from any backlashes for not following the Kage's unreasonable law. Everyone who fought in the Ruler Tournament and lost are expected to help the winner with his/her reign for the next four years, until the next Ruler Tournament occurs. This cycle then repeats.

With this, peace reigned in Shinobi Continent for thousand of years to come. [5]

-The end-

[1] To clarify, think of Yusuke's total reserve as a box. When the Spirit World sealed his energy, a wall was basically erected within the box, preventing around 80% of the sealed energy to be used (This term is used loosely). Those 80% of sealed energy consist of both spirit energy and demon energy. Ninety-eight percent of his demon energy was sealed, since there are people in Human World who could see the energy difference, such as those with Sharingan or Byakugan. So when someone with that ability takes a look at Yusuke's chakra with his or her eyes, only blue, normal chakra would be seen. Occasionally, his two percent of unsealed demon chakra would appear in form of a thin streak of red within the sea of blue, but only briefly. That being said, Spirit World's seal prevent anyone from seeing the sealed portion of Yusuke's chakra.

With 80% of his energy sealed, logically, Yusuke in his sealed form would only have access to approximately 20% of his total chakra reserve. Whenever his unsealed reserve is less than full, his body would automatically replenish them. A little unknown fact regarding chakra is that, just like how everyone prefers thing fresh, 'old chakra' so to speak, would always be used before the newly replenished ones. This is a cycle that constantly happens and the reason why a problem regarding the sealed portion of his energy arise.

Circulating chakra within one's body is an innate process to refresh the chakra, so naturally, it is normal for even the sealed portion to be renewed. Now, go back and imagine the box that is Yusuke's chakra reserve. On the left side is the sealed portion and on the right is the unsealed portion. Normally, the reserve box as a whole would be full of tiny holes so chakra could be released and used. Energy would also circulate throughout the whole reserve box (like convection currents).

However, things are different with a portion of the energy sealed. On the left side, because it is sealed, the holes in that area are covered and sealed off. With the energy there basically trapped, none of the energy would be used and therefore, in the same sense, they also cannot be renewed even as they continue to circulate within the same side. The opposite is true for the right side. The chakra on that side mostly always gets renewed since the old chakra there is used.

The truth is that the energy circulates throughout the whole box while circulating within its own boundary as well. This is because, as stated before, it is natural for energy that is 'older' to be used first. However, there are restricts to that due to the seal.

For one, the same amount of chakra/energy has to be maintained within the sealed side. There always have to be 80% of Yusuke's energy sealed no matter what and of the 80%, 98% of his demon energy must be there. In other words, the way of refreshing energy for the sealed side is swapping the unsealed side's newer chakra with the sealed side's older one so they can be used. This can only happen in small portions though, since the wall separating the two sides is still there. The energy slips past the wall through only cracks and space between the edge of the 'wall' and the sides of the 'box.' As it is, this process could be extremely slow, especially for the demon energy. Since the sealed side always has to contain 98% of the demon energy, only 2% of them could exchange at a time. Moreover, it's not as though Yusuke uses his demon energy often.

When a certain time passes and the 'old' energy is still not exchanged, it would somewhat 'overflows.' As an automatic body mechanism to make sure that Yusuke doesn't imploded from overdose energy, that energy will surround Yusuke's whole body like an energy armor. It would lessen the damage of attacks and such. Surrounding one's fist or foot could with energy could also augment that part's strength however, and with Yusuke unable to control the flow, the time when the body tries to rid itself of the excess/old energy practically equates to Yusuke's body being in ready-to-brawl mode twenty-four seven.

That was basically the only way to get rid of that energy since the exchange is by trickles from both sides. If Yusuke tries to spirit gun away all that away and empties out his unsealed reserve, he will pass out just like he would if he emptied out his original reserve, since the unsealed portion is all that he can access to.

For every time the 'old energy' overflows, the seal would weaken by a little, so there would be more unsealed energy accessible for Yusuke. Therefore, in the eyes of those who don't know about this, as time passes and the seal weakens, Yusuke gets stronger at an incredible pace.

[2]

Yusuke: *narrows his eyes* You did something, didn't you?

Hiei: Oh, what makes you say so, detective?

Yusuke: You're smirking

Hiei: Your point is…?

Yusuke: You did something!

Hiei: *smirk widen while still managing to shrug nonchalantly* Everyone is doing something. Right now, I'm sitting and you're standing. We're doing something called conversing, if you happen to not know.

Yusuke: *glares at Hiei* I know you-!

Hiei: This conversation is over, detective. Come back when you can tell say exactly what is that 'something' that you insisted I did.

Yusuke: *Fumes and glares some more, but leaves nevertheless*

Hiei: *SMIRK*

[3] A great deal of stuff was left unsaid here.

Hiei's move was probably the most understandable and straight-forward. He doesn't have many close friends, not letting them get close as a general rule. Those he does, he cares about them a lot, especially Yukina. Hiei knew he lost her the moment the barriers between the worlds were up. He had known she had passed when the tear stone Yukina had given to him suddenly felt cold and he felt as though he had lost part of himself. It may have been a sibling connection, it might not have been. But Hiei knew without any doubt that he doesn't wish to experience it again, having to have felt the feeling three times over with the lost of Kurama, Kuwabara and Yukina. He especially didn't want to lose Kurama again, not when he was so close now. He would do anything to save Kurama, even if it meant sacrificing a human child's life or even causing Yusuke to hate him for a few decades. It didn't help that Hiei had always thought humans are worthless, as he was raised by demons with the same beliefs. All those that he had learned from Human World after meeting Yusuke, he had lost them all, with the exception of occasionally applying it to friends he had already made.

Kurama's reasoning was a bit different, a little more of self-preservation than anything else. He never blamed Genkai for sealing him, knowing that she couldn't have known he was there and even if she did, there was no other choice. Despite that, he never asked to be sealed, especially into another's body after Kuwabara's death. Being simply a soul was never easy. He had fought other souls for dominance, but even after attaining it, there was no rest. The souls' personality was essentially gone, but they always try to influence him while murmuring nothings. (Think of Fullmetal Alchemist's Envy's true form, with all the human face and remains on the outside that screams and cries. Reverse it for Kurama so all that is on the inside. He had to face that for every second of his 'life,' so he was basically uncomfortable even in his own 'skin.') Kurama could use those powers, but his sanity was the price. It was incredibly hard for Kurama to retain his humanity, especially with all those outside influence and none of them are positive, so he clung desperately on to his self-preservation. He was stuck with only those screaming souls for companies for centuries and worst of all, with the seal, Kurama couldn't see anything from the outside world. He could only hang on while not knowing if anyone would take him out of that hell if he clung on long enough. Thankfully, Hiei appeared, cracking the seal with his Jagan enough so Kurama could now observe the outside world through the human vessel's eyes. Then, Yusuke soon appeared and with Hiei and Yusuke, everything seemed much better.

Yusuke had the hardest time because he understood Hiei and Kurama's reasoning. He wasn't going to be arrogant and say he understood completely, but he did understand a little on the most basic level. He knew of Hiei's decision to not lose any more precious people, and of Kurama putting self-preservation before anything else because that _was _what he had been doing for centuries and habits are hard to break and it's darn hard to let himself to trust and rely and depend on others again. Yusuke knew, but he also hate to let Hiei and Kurama control Naruto's life because of a little fear that Kurama's survival wasn't 100% certain. They know that it's impossible for that to happen, and even if they lengthen Naruto's life to as long as they could, that wasn't the key to the problem. The key was that they couldn't find any way to get Kurama out of Naruto and they couldn't even risk experimenting with it. So he proved that 100% survival was impossible by giving an example of how locking someone in their own house and not letting them out wouldn't protect them if the house collapses. Then, he proceeds to let them have hope for what was their best bet: Spirit World. In return, let Naruto live his life the way he wish.

[4]

Of course it wasn't so easy. While it was true that Yusuke did have to give up three of his next paychecks, that wasn't all to it. The Hokage had released the prisoners because he trusted Yusuke. In the letter that Yusuke sent, he told the Hokage that the Demon Brothers are extremely loyal to Zabuza, since they would defect from their own village for him. Yusuke guessed their case is similar to how Haku is to Zabuza. In other words, they would listen to what Zabuza say and would obey. Yusuke told the Hokage he would take care of that, and make sure Zabuza won't become enemies of Konoha. The rest would follow out of loyalty. Since the logic was sound and the Hokage actually had no idea what to do with the Demon Brothers since they hadn't committed any big crime besides giving light injuries to Sasuke and Naruto, the Hokage let them go. On some level, it may also have something to do with the fact that he views Yusuke as a son, who is currently taking care of Naruto, who he views as a grandson. The Hokage was thankful that Yusuke managed to take care of Naruto well and made him happy. Since this was the first time Yusuke ever asked for something, the Hokage granted it.

[5] Two endings on what happened to Kurama:

1. Kurama had only temporarily lost his memory, and had regained it soon with the help of his friends.

2. The energy that Forlorn Hope took from Yusuke and Hiei was not the real price. The real one is their relationship with Kurama; Forlorn Hope took Kurama's memory and he never did regain it (Tsubasa Chronicles). Painstakingly and through many hardships, everyone who was Kurama's friend slowly (re)gained his trust. Afterwards, although things were different than they had imagined, it was enough.

* * *

><p>Once again, thank you for reading. I had a lot of fun writing this and knowing people actually read my writing makes me incredibly happy. I hope you've enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it. For the last time, citation:<p>

All characters mentioned as part of Village Hidden in Hailstorm are not mine. They all came from a novel/anime/manga called _Durarara! _The rest of the characters either came from _Naruto _or _Yu Yu Hakusho. _

The quoted parts came from Naruto wikia. Thank you, since I couldn't have written Little Things without Naruto wikia, the lifesaver.

Hikaru no Go is an actual manga/anime.

**People who I simply cannot express enough gratitude to:**

Thank you, TheBeingOfEverything, for letting me use your idea on how the world ended as a starter. Little Things couldn't have existed without you

Thank you, One of Inspiration, for constantly reminding me to write and update. Little Things would never have gotten so far if not for you.**  
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Thank you, everyone who read Little Things. I wouldn't have had the courage to continue on writing without your support.


	22. Author's Note - A Rewrite

Hello, my dear readers. This is July of 2015, around three years since the publication and completion of Little Things. Over the course of this three years since I have finished writing the story, I've received quite a few reviews telling me how horrible this story is, that Yusuke and everyone else are OOC, the circumstance are improbable and all. Here, I'm going to admit that in some ways that is true, but also that _I have no way of fixing that in Little Things because Little Things is built up on the very foundation of those improbably circumstances and the OOC decisions that all the characters make._

Despite knowing that, my former writing has been bothering me. There are parts that I'm proud of (chapter 1 and chapter 21 being the most prominent case), but also parts that make me want to cringe. As a result, this is what happened: **I rewrote Little Things.**

Yup, a story that I wrote back in my youth within seven months that spanned more than 70,000 words has been rewritten, now published on Fanfiction under the name 'Little Things (that might have happened)'. **If you have not yet lost all hope in YYHxNaruto fics or if you would like to read a improved, more in-character version of Little Things, please feel free to check out 'Little Things (that might have happened)'.** I wrote it partially for myself as a writer and partially for readers who might have expected something more from Little Things. Thanks!


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